


Warlord To Warden

by DigitalThespian



Category: One Step From Eden (Video Game)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Community - Freeform, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Magitech, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Past Violence, Team as Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, mildly canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26538076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalThespian/pseuds/DigitalThespian
Summary: Gunner is a lot of things. At first, a lot of them are bad. But one thing he has always been is good to his company, and eventually, his tribe.And eventually.. A warlord might decide to put his roots down a bit deeper, and to take the people around him under his protection. And so a warlord becomes simply a lord.And someday.. perhaps a lord might decide to build his demesne into a place for those that have no other places, and take them in as his own, and shelter them and help them survive.And so does a lord become a warden.
Relationships: Gunner (One Step From Eden) & Hazel (One Step From Eden), Gunner (One Step From Eden) & Original Male Character, Gunner (One Step From Eden)/Shopkeeper (One Step From Eden), Hazel (One Step From Eden) & Saffron (One Step From Eden), Hazel (One Step From Eden)/Violette (One Step From Eden), Selicy (One Step From Eden)/Original Male Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Warlord

**Author's Note:**

> Gunner has a mercenary company; if you read the original Warlord, you know this. (This includes a modified version of that story as a prologue of sorts, and a _ton_ more.) They all go by their callsigns; this should be fairly straightforward, but I wanted to prepare y'all for the nine characters you've never heard of before. They're not all around all the time, but a few are plot-relevant here and there.
> 
> Not all the relationships are tagged; the ones that are tagged are obvious as hell even before they get together, but there are a few that aren't that cut-and-dried, or that are OC/OC, which isn't helpful for tagging. 
> 
> Terrable isn't called that in this, but she exists as a separate character in canon if you're playing as Terra on a pacifist run, which is intriguing, so I made her an actual character. 
> 
> This is a hell of a ride, and I thank each and every one of you for embarking on it. There is a lot of shameless fluff, but there's some serious stuff too. Okay there's a lot of serious stuff, but hey, there's also a lot of cheesy romance, which is likely what you all expect from me by now. There are probably going to be serious edits, but that's just how it goes. 
> 
> And please point it out if you notice something! I promise I'm not gonna be like "ugh, this rando nitpicking my spelling grammar mistakes", I really do want you to say so, even if it's just "you missed a comma/semicolon/whatever in X place." Especially for continuity or tagging though!
> 
> Also the shopkeeper is named Fiona because I said so, I guess.

Saffron approached the makeshift encampment cautiously; there was no way of knowing who was in charge of this mercenary camp, and she didn't want to take any more fights than she had to. There were makeshift banners lining the outside perimeter made of old military uniforms—each one seemed to be a patchwork belonging to several different companies, sometimes even different _nations_ in one banner, and no two banners were the same. They all had one thing in common, however, and that was that nearly all of them were bloodstained to some degree, and they all had a nearly pristine emblem of some variety dead center.

Some were clearly handmade, but others Saffron recognized. Most that she did were military emblems from what used to be her homeland. Her eyes scanned each one, trying to glean as much information as she could before she came face-to-face with the camp's inhabitants. Forewarned is forearmed, after all.

The next banner she saw stopped her in her tracks; she would say her blood turned to ice, but.. she knew what that felt like from her time doing spell research.

..The horror that gripped her now was _so_ much worse. She knew what the banners represented now; each mercenary had their own, and this one.. this one was.. She _knew_ that emblem.

It was the emblem of the Pioneer; the chief engineer and head of research and development of her homeland's military defense branch. The spell loader on her arm was designed by the owner of that emblem.

..Hazel.

And her banner was longer than all but one other, the uniforms comprising it full of tattered holes. She didn't want to think about what that meant. She especially didn't want to think about who the longest banner could have belonged to.

But she was going to have to. If Hazel was here.. maybe the mercenary band would be on her side. Maybe the banners were a warning to ex-soldiers turned bandit.

_Be-beep!_

Saffron froze. She knew that sound, too. She kicked off backward just in time to avoid the shot, the report of the gun turret echoing through the silence. The camp broke into an uproar, and the sound of pounding footsteps began immediately. She quickly checked her gauntlet, making sure it was fully loaded; if it came to a fight, she wasn't going to be the one dying today.

"Don't move! Hands where we can see them!" Saffron looked up to see.. a group of kids. The oldest of them couldn't be older than seventeen; maybe even _sixteen_. They all held odd variations of military weaponry, each of which appeared to be custom made—or at least retrofitted—for them specifically.

That confirmed her suspicions about Hazel's presence, but one thing still bothered her..

Why had the turret fired at _her_? If it _was_ Hazel's, the target acquisition system should have recognized her; maybe it was broken..?

..She could hope. Her gut instinct was to cast kinetic wave and run, but..

She raised her hands in surrender, survival instincts be damned; they were just a bunch of kids, she wasn't going to attack them like that. "I'm not here to fight, I just want to talk to your leader."

"Drop the weapon!"

Uh-oh. "It doesn't come off. Or—it does, but I don't have the tools to do it anymore."

The spokesman of the group was quiet a moment. "..Fine. We'll have the gearhead do it." The mercenary jerked his head towards the center of the camp, and the rest quickly surrounded her.

She did her best to stay calm, moving where the group directed her. She was quickly losing any semblance of control of this situation. She looked around, noting the disorderly arrangements of tents and collapsible structures—a nomadic group, then.

..She wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse. One of the mercenaries split off in a different direction, presumably to fetch this 'gearhead', or the leader, depending on who she was being brought to.

Soon enough, they arrived at a structure that was larger than the rest, the entrance flanked by two pairs of turrets. They swiveled to point at the group, but the leader of the little group spoke up again. "Stand down. Authorization code Bravo-November-Three."

Verbal, then. She breathed an internal sigh of relief; the entrance turret simply targeted her because she didn't identify herself, which made sense considering the patchwork nature of the group. She would simply ask Hazel herself once she arrived. They entered the door, only to be met with.. a cross between a war room and a warlord's den. Fur rugs, a table with a map of the surrounding area, and a very large chair—a throne, she realized.

Had Hazel gone _mad_? What was going on here? It was then Saffron noticed the young man lounging on the throne, an especially large weapon of some kind leaned against it. "Oh? And who did you bring me this time? Another military bootlicker? A merchant? A new recruit?" His tone was pleasant enough, the pitch a low tenor; but there was something.. _wrong_ about it. It wasn't simply the dark undercurrent, the thinly veiled disdain.. something fundamental about the sound itself seemed off somehow.

"She says she wants to talk. Duster is fetching the gearhead to divest her of her weapon."

The boy's age was ambiguous—she would assume he was older than the rest due to his position, but he was also very short with a bit of a babyface, which is where the ambiguity came in. He waved lazily, almost _dismissively_. "I'm not worried. I haven't been bested yet," He finally turned to fix Saffron with a piercing, challenging gaze. " _And I never will be._ "

She was suddenly concerned for Hazel's safety. Was she being held prisoner?

After a split second, his eyes widened. " _You_ ," He stood abruptly. "I know you. You worked with my mother. I saw your picture in the company newsletter all the time."

"Your.. mother?" Saffron felt like she had been struck by lightning. This bloodthirsty youth was the son of one of her former coworkers? But the only one who had been pregnant in the right time-frame was..

She suddenly realized why his voice seemed so wrong. He was magically inert, his voice carrying only through the air, and not the mana suffusing it.

A familiar voice drifted through the door. "This better be important, you assholes, I'm in the middle of—" It cut off. ".. _Saffron_? You're _alive_?! What are you _doing_ here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Saffron turn to face her old friend, noting with sadness the scars on her arms and face. "What horrors have you seen, Hazel? What happened to us?"

To Saffron's surprise, Hazel's face twisted into a snarl. " _ **YOU** HAPPENED, SAFFRON!_" She slashed a hand through the air. "Don't think I didn't see what you did! I told you it would be a disaster, but did you listen?! Did you stop and think for _five fucking seconds_ that maybe, just maybe, the Pioneer knows what she's talking about?"

"Hazel, I—"

" _NO! **You** listen!_ You're the reason I've had to kill so many people! _**You** did this to me_," She yanked up the hem of her shirt under her overalls, exposing a ragged scar covering the left side of her torso. Saffron gasped, covering her mouth. "So just shut the fuck up. I don't want to hear it."

"Hazel, I swear, I didn't mean for this to happen, I—"

The young man on the throne spoke up again, his voice quiet and dangerous. "I believe the lady said she didn't want to hear it."

Saffron whirled, an expression of disbelief on her face. "Wha—This doesn't concern you!"

"I disagree. Anything that concerns my company concerns me. If my second in command says to shut up and listen.." His hand drifted over casually to rest on the butt of his weapon. "..You best shut up and listen."

"..Second in command..?" Saffron turned back to Hazel, who had tucked her shirt back into place. "You're..?"

"Doing my best to clean up the mess _you_ made?" Saffron flinched.

Hazel nodded grimly when Saffron didn't respond. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have _meaningful_ things to attend to."

The mercenary who led her in spoke up again. "What do you want us to do with her, Gunner? Should we kill her, or let her go? Or should we hold her here?"

The boy on the throne—Gunner—spoke up again. "Hazel? It's up to you. You're the one who was wronged the most."

"..I want her to live with what she's done. But make no mistake, _Saffron_ ," Hazel turned to leave. "If I see you again.. I'll kill you myself."

"You heard the lady. Get her out of my camp."

Saffron allowed herself to be escorted out, her heart sinking. Not only had she caused the end of the world.. she'd hurt one of her best friends. And that boy.. knowing who he was, he couldn't be more than fifteen. His bravado and callousness was likely equal parts experience and posture; one couldn't be a warlord without it, but..

Once you start riding the tiger, you can't get off. She could only hope the apparent loyalty of his crew was genuine, and not a result of fear.


	2. Moral Event Horizon

Gunner felt his adrenaline spike. "Duster? Duster, we lost you, say again?" The line remained silent. " _Shit_!" Gunner stood abruptly. "Everyone; get ready to move out. I don't like this."

The company nodded grimly. Striker slammed a fist into his opposite palm. "Time to bust some heads."

* * *

Duster cursed under his breath. He needed to radio back to Gunner, but he couldn't lose this guy!

He cast a glance behind him, and his eyes widened.

And now the bastard was just _gone_?! But where did he go!?

Duster was slammed back to the immediate present by the sudden halt of his speeder, launching him over the handlebars. "Son of a—"

He crashed to a halt some thirty yards away, and a boot came to rest in his peripheral vision. "Nothing personal, you know that, right? It's just business. You seem like a nice kid."

He pulled himself weakly upright, glaring up at the man in the mask. "Business, huh? Any chance I can pay you not to kill me?"

"Afraid not. Going back on contracts is even worse business than not completing them. Sorry, kid."

The was a metallic click, the whirr of a cylinder, and with a bang..

Duster's world went dark.

* * *

"Oh no," Lance paled. "Please tell me that's not Duster's speeder."

Gunner growled. "We're going to find who did this." He set a trembling hand on the seat of the bike. "..Freight. You were the closest.. what should we do with the bike?"

"Me?" Freight took a half-step back. "I'm the new recruit, you're asking _me_?"

Cross laid a hand on Freight's shoulder. "You were the closest to Duster, and you're our other driver. Around here, we trust our experts."

"I.." Freight swallowed hard, trying to hold back a sob. "..I'll drive it back to camp. He.. he might.." His shoulders fell. "Who am I kidding.. he'd never leave that thing behind, he's a wizard on a one-seater.."

"Drive it back to camp, then. I'm with you; he's not dead until we find the body. Until then, we'll have his bike waiting." Gunner nodded curtly. "Arch—you go with him. We don't know if that guy is still around, but if something tries to mess with you, waste it. Avoid collateral damage if you can help it, but if push comes to shove, burn down the whole forest if you have to. I am _not_ losing anyone else today."

"Roger. Come on, Freight." The two mounted the speeder, and Freight swung it around to zip back towards camp.

" _Shit_ ," Phantom sighed. "..Found him."

The group started, turning towards him. Striker took a half step closer. "No.."

Gunner closed the distance, and the rest followed. Arch dismounted the bike, and a moment later Freight did too, trailing behind.

"Dammit," Triage growled. "I was hoping I could save him, but.."

"..there's no coming back from that." Lance finished.

" _Duster!_ " Freight couldn't hold back the cry when he saw his friend—their brother—lying in the dirt. "No, please, no.." He sank to his knees. "Why.. why did it have to be like this.. it's not fair!"

Kernel knelt next to him, pulling him into a hug. "I know.. it's not fair."

"What did he do to deserve this..?"

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people," Striker murmured.

"I—I need to go back to camp, I can't—at this rate I'll do something reckless if we do find him, I—"

"Go ahead," Gunner's voice was gentle. "I respect you knowing that. Be safe. Arch?"

"Got it. Come on, buddy; let's get on home. Don't worry.. that bastard won't get away."

Cross narrowed his eyes. "You're damn right he won't. He made an enemy today. Fortunately for him, it won't be for long. And if the end of that coincides with the end of his _miserable_ life, well, so be it."

* * *

"I'm afraid I'm not just going to let you kill me; you understand." The man blurred sideways, and Striker staggered through mid-swing yet again.

He let out a roar of anger. "Shut up and fight!"

"I'm also not entertaining the notion I could win that fight. I'll be taking my leave now, gentlemen." A dozen copies of him sprang into being, each dashing off in a different direction.

"Hmph. Good luck with that." Gunner tossed a metal canister on the ground, which quickly unfolded into a small tripod-mounted turret. It spun rapidly, halting briefly on each mercenary it passed. Each time, there was a small green light that flashed; then it spun past two clones with no response at all, before stopping on a third.

The light flashed red, and the turret immediately opened fire.

The man staggered, crashing to a halt on the forest floor. "Aargh!"

Gunner walked over. "Cute trick; but how do you like mine? A friend made it for me. You can fool me, but you can't fool it." He looked back at the company. "What do you guys think about bringing him back to camp so Freight can shoot him?"

"I have no objections." Striker shrugged.

"Me either." Cross nodded. "I think it's safe to say we're all on board, chief."

"Alright. Back to camp it is."

One member was uneasy, but did not speak up.. not yet, anyway.

* * *

Freight's fists trembled at his sides, and he was clenching them hard enough to make the leather of his gloves creak. "That's the bastard that did it, then?"

Gunner nodded. "Yeah. We decided you had a right to say what happens to him just as much as us, and you have the biggest claim on vengeance of all of us."

"Why'd he do it?" Freight never looked away from the man who killed Duster. He was tied to a free-standing doorframe they'd propped up with some supports, which looked a bit dumb, but as Kernel always said; if it looks stupid, but it works, it's not stupid.

"Said it was a contract. Looks like jobs are starting to catch up to us."

"But who would go after _Duster_?! He was never the one shooting people, or lobbing grenades, or whatever other horseshit we've all pulled," Gunner chuckled at this, and Freight's expression softened ever so slightly for a moment. "Well, enough standing around."

Freight stalked off towards the assassin, and Gunner whistled sharply; the company assembled in short order, the last to arrive doing so just as Freight finished his approach. "You killed my friend, and for what?"

The man looked at him with a tired expression, with just a hint of amusement sneaking through. Not.. _patronizing_ , just.. resigned. "Money, technically, but I tend to spend that on food, so I'm not sure if you want me to answer that literally." He smiled to himself, laughing quietly. "Some things never change, huh? It's always about the money."

"Why Duster?"

"Was that his name? The contract was for any one of you; they didn't care who, he just happened to be the one I caught alone."

Freight grit his teeth. "Is that supposed to make me feel _better_?"

"No. Nothing I can say can fix that. I also know that look in your eyes; I'm not walking away from this alive."

"At least you're not a coward."

"A scoundrel to the last, but aye, not a coward."

Freight pulled his knife out of its sheath on the small of his back. "See you in hell." He pulled back, but he was stopped by a voice calling out.

" _Wait!_ " Everyone turned to stare at Triage, the second-newest member. "I—I can't condone this, I could stomach you having a say, and thus needing an execution, but I can't let you stab a helpless man and then _watch_ as he dies slowly, I can't—We can't _be_ that, we have to be _better_ , _**please**_."

Freight rounded on Triage. "What the hell is your problem!?"

Kernel stepped between them, hands up cautiously. "Hey, easy, bud, we're on the same side here. Let's figure this out nice and calm-like, yeah?"

Freight huffed, sheathing his knife. "Fine. What the hell are you on about, Triage?"

"This is a moment we can't come back from as a group, if we do this.. I can't be a part of this anymore." Triage looked down sadly. "I love all of you, and that's why I couldn't handle knowing what we would become.."

Lance chimed in. "..He's right." He looked at Freight. "I was going to let you do it, but I wasn't going to like it. It's your life, but.. I care about you. We all do."

"..Fine. What now, then?"

Triage blinked. "Oh, wow, I didn't expect you to agree that easily."

"I mean.. around here we trust our experts, right? If the doc says it's bad for my well-being as a person, I can deal, but bad for everyone else too? You're right; I don't want to do that to you guys."

Gunner jerked his head towards the assassin, who was rather confused. "What now with this guy?"

"Well.." Freight sighed. "I've kinda lost any steam I had, I'm just.. tired, now."

Lance tilted his head, walking closer. "Who hired you?"

"A crazy old widow."

"We killed her husband?"

"Yep. Three months ago."

"That's rough, but we were in the right that time; that guy had lost his mind—and I mean that literally, he was waving a spellbook around like a madman."

"It's not particularly important to me if you were or weren't, I rather gave up on things like that once I decided I was going to commit _murder_ on a regular basis," The assassin deadpanned.

"I guess I can understand that. Alright; how about this." Lance turned to the group. "And this is gonna sound nuts, but bear with me." He turned back. "How about I speak your language; let's make a deal."

"I'm certainly listening."

"You're right, that sounds nuts, but you're our logistics guy for a reason, so maybe you see something I don't." Arch shook his head.

"Now that you've shown up, we know you're not going to be the last. That's just how it is." Lance shrugged. "But we have no way of knowing when; and that's where you come in. You tell us whenever there's a contract out for any of us, who it's from, if you know of anyone who accepted, and how much it's for. That, and the occasional favor—and I really do mean occasional, but when we 'ask' for it, we're not really asking."

"And in return you'll let me live?"

Freight grit his teeth. "I hate this, but dammit, you're right; this is important to our survival, I can't argue with making sure this never happens again."

"All in favor:" Lance raised a hand, along with everyone but Striker, Cross, and Freight. "All against:"

Everyone's hands went down, and stayed down. "Alright." Lance turned to the assassin. "You get to live. What's your name?"

"Shiso."

* * *

Phantom stopped in his tracks when he spotted Gunner hunched over between two tents, hugging his knees. He hurried over. "Whoa, dude, what's going on?"

"I.." Gunner took a shuddering breath. " _I let Duster down,_ " He whispered. "This.. this is my fault."

"Hey, snap out of it! What else could you have done? As soon as there looked like trouble, you had us hauling ass over there to help."

"I shouldn't have sent him out alone—"

"We trust our experts." Phantom crossed his arms. "I have to go out alone too; we know the risks. He was the perfect forward scout, anyone else would have just made him less safe because of how much he'd have to slow down. There was no other choice to make, man."

"..you're right, but.. you all put your faith in me, and.. I failed. What if.. What if I lose another one of you guys?" Gunner looked up at Phantom, eyes full of tears. "I can't do that, Phan, especially not you."

Phantom knelt down to pull Gunner into a hug. "You're my best friend too, Gunner. Don't worry; I'll be careful. I always am, but I'll be sure to keep it in mind. Alright?"

"Alright." Gunner sniffed, smiling. "Thanks. Now, we need to stop talking about me being vulnerable. What's this I hear about you staring at Striker's butt all the time?"

"He has a nice butt! Okay?!" Phantom pulled away, crossing his arms with a huff. "I see how it is, just using me for _gossip_ ," He tossed his head back in faux-indignation. "The nerve!"

Gunner laughed. "Hey, you do you bud. Just between you and me, though.. I think you've got a pretty good shot."

"Really?" Phantom considered this. "How good, would you say?"

"Maybe.. sixty to ninety percent sure?"

"That's a huge range," Phantom scoffed, rolling his eyes with a smile. "You little shit!"

"Hey, I don't know how you're gonna handle it, or a bunch of other stuff, it's not _personal_."

"I know, I know. But seriously; you'd say about three in four odds?"

"I guess, yeah."

"..Cool. I'll be back, I have something to be doing."

"Wait, right now?"

"Fortune favors the bold, baby!" Phantom strode off out into the camp.

Gunner chuckled to himself. He could always count on Phantom to make him feel better.

* * *

" _Eat shit!_ " There was an audible thump as the man hit the ground, even from this distance, and the company watched in awe as a redheaded girl about their age dusted herself off after _trashing_ three highwaymen.

"..holy shit I'm in love," Gunner murmured.

"Alright, pack it in boys, Gunner's got dibs," Lance joked. "She _is_ kinda my type, though; she's pretty kick-ass. But I wouldn't know what to do, anyway, so I'll let you blaze that trail."

"I—I didn't mean to—"

"Dude, you are obviously _totally_ screwed for this girl already, just accept it. And like, good fucking choice, even if I don't swing that way." Phantom grinned, and Striker's eyes widened slightly.

Everyone stared a moment. "Wait, really?"

Gunner snorted. "Of _course_ that's how you announce it," He muttered.

Striker shrugged after a moment. "Yep. We're dating."

The was a second stunned silence in twice as many seconds.

"Holy shit, how did I not know that?"

"As of last night, so—"

" _Daaamn_ , Striker!"

"Wait, that's not what I—" Striker sighed, resigning himself to the catcalls of his fellow mercenaries.

"I'm just that charming, huh?" Phantom smirked.

"Yeah, it only took ya like, two months," Gunner looked back, and frowned when he noticed the girl was gone.

He shrugged. Oh well. She'd turn up again, probably, since she looked like a merchant. He'd see her again eventually.

* * *

Apparently 'eventually' actually meant 'tomorrow'. "Hi! I'm Fiona! I'm a traveling saleswoman, and my specialty is, well, specialty! You need something, I can get it for you! It might take a while, since that's the nature of that kind of thing sometimes, but rest assured; I _will_ get it."

"It's you," Gunner blurted.

She took a half step back. "Should I be worried?"

"No! No, uh.. I actually saw you fight three highwayman, but you beat them up faster than I could even get everyone listening to come help, so. And then my best friend distracted me by being a little shit, and you were gone."

"Oh. Huh. That's.. I'm not sure what to say," She shifted, but not uncomfortably.

"Sorry, I was just surprised, I'll stop spouting random bullshit. Head that way for the wall tent, Lance is the quartermaster, he can bring you up to speed better than I can." Gunner pointed, then clammed up.

Fiona beamed. "Awesome! I promise you won't regret it!"

"We haven't made a deal yet, but I believe you anyway."

"Ah, but you said yet!" She jogged off to the tent he pointed at. "I look forward to doing business with you!" She called over her shoulder.

Gunner stared a moment. "..God I am _so_ fucked," He murmured.

* * *

"Hm? Who are you?"

"Uh—I'm Fiona, I'm a merchant who finds specialty items—"

"Perfect." Hazel whipped a notepad out of a pocket on her overalls, tearing off a page. "This is everything I need that's not normally carried by merchants."

"You just have that ready?!"

"It's a reference list for when merchants come so I can easily check. I have more than one, don't worry. Anyway, I've got work to do, so I'm headed out." She walked away without another word, and Fiona was left clutching a list, with a lot more questions than before.

"I see you met Hazel." Lance laughed. "She's like that sometimes."

"Is that her name?" Fiona murmured, clearly bewildered. "She just kinda told me I was buying this and left.." She looked down, and her eyes widened. "Is this Hexawan _notepaper_? Who the hell _is_ she?!"

"She was The Pioneer, whatever that means," Lance shrugged.

"You're _kidding_ ," Fiona's mouth fell open. "Shit, alright, time to put my money where my mouth is; I guess I should have asked before making bold promises like that."

"Hey, at least you've got a reliable source of special orders. That and credibility. Tracking down rare materials for someone like Hazel is gonna be rough."

"No kidding. So; let's talk pricing."

* * *

"Alright, I give up; is it just impossible to make friends with Hazel, or something? How the hell did you manage it, Gunner?" Fiona collapsed into a chair.

"I didn't; I have something she wants, and she's the best mechanic in the world, practically. She basically showed up, said she needed materials, and that in turn she'd work to keep us running in top shape."

"Okay, so she's just a workaholic, got it."

"No, she actually seems to like doing what she does. She's like.. a professional hobbyist. With a PhD."

"So she's batshit insane, but in the socially acceptable way, got it."

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's a good way of putting it. If you wanna know more, the only people I actually see her hang out with are Duster and his fri—" Gunner cut off. ".. Freight, Cross, and Striker."

"Uh.. are you okay?"

Gunner took a deep breath; no sense taking it out on her. "No, but I'll live. Duster.. he's no longer with us."

" _Oh_ , gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't.."

"Like I said, I'll live. Not your fault." Gunner smiled lopsidedly. "Anyway, go talk to them if you wanna be friends with Hazel. They're all the mechanics people; Cross loves guns, Freight is our heavy vehicles driver, and Striker handles heavy weaponry, so they all have a lot in common."

"Oh boy; talk about a tough crowd. I don't know the first thing about all that."

"They'll be _happy_ to explain it to you."

"I _know_ , that's what I'm _afraid_ of," Fiona muttered.

Gunner couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"Whoa, really?"

Triage nodded. "If we're making a full on settlement, I'm going to retire the company and open a practice. A settlement's gotta have a doctor, and I just wouldn't have time for both."

Kernel smiled. "And it's not like you won't be around."

"Exactly. You can come bug me any time you like, Kernel."

"Aw, you care!" Kernel yanked Triage into a hug, and he squeaked.

"Urk! Kernel! Too tight!"

Kernel let go. "Oh! Sorry! I'm still getting used to how strong I am now.."

"Amazing what two years and a decent source of protein will get you." Triage deadpanned, then smiled. "Thanks for supporting me, guys. Really. Best family I've ever had."

Everyone collectively looked away, rubbing at their eyes. Phantom ran forward and hugged Triage as well. "Aww, Triage! I know you're not _that_ much older than I am, but still, thanks for looking out for me."

"Sure thing, Phantom. Just gotta help where I can, right?"


	3. Refuge

"You are different from the others."

Gunner started, whipping around to level his rifle at the unexpected sound. Before him stood a very tall woman in an unreasonably fancy dress; was that _velvet_? With _feathers_? He lowered the barrel to the side, but didn't let his guard down. "..Who are you? And what do you mean _different_?"

"You have no natural mana flow. You have other methods to compensate, I would presume, but you cannot channel it by yourself. Why?"

"Was born like this. Couldn't tell ya. Parents died in the apocalypse."

She smiled wryly. "The world hasn't ended _just_ yet."

"Looks pretty ended to me. I'm a seventeen-year-old kid with a kill count in the _hundreds_ ; I don't care where you're from, that's all kinds of messed up."

The woman took a half step back, shocked. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given the weapon, but.."

"But what? You think I can't handle myself?" He narrowed his eyes.

"It's not that, I simply.. you _are_ a seventeen year old, and I didn't expect you to have lived such a gruesome life," She sighed. "But it seems we all face that which we do not deserve these days, doesn't it?"

"..what's your story, then? Do I wanna know?"

"City burned, relatives and friends slaughtered; a sad tale to be sure, but not a unique one."

"You have a place to go?"

She blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Do you have somewhere to stay? Like, a group to watch out for you, or shelter, or whatever."

"I.. No, I don't. I've simply been traveling, trying to get by," She held up a violin. "Fortunately I have a skill that usually earns me a place by any campfire I come across."

"Well, you can stay with us if you need. My camp is about an hour north of here."

"Oh," A hint of a smile played about her lips. "I appreciate it, and I accept, but shouldn't you consult with the leadership first?"

"I _am_ the leadership. It's me and my old mercenary company, along with a few others, like our machinist."

She stared in disbelief. "..You."

"Yeah; me." He raised an eyebrow. "Is it really that hard to believe?"

"..Once again, I find myself in horror of the life you must have led to bring you to where you are."

He relaxed, smiling gently. "I appreciate the kindness. The world needs more people like you." He gave her an appraising look. "You know, I think you're really gonna get along with Hazel."

"Hazel?"

"She's the machinist I mentioned, and my second in command."

"Well, I look forward to meeting her, then."

* * *

"Authorization code: India-Three-Echo," The turrets returned to their resting positions. Gunner motioned for the woman to follow. "I'll take you to the supply tent, if Lance is there he can get you set up with a tent of your own to sleep in. He's the quartermaster."

"While I appreciate it—as I said earlier—why are you doing this?"

"I have an eye for trouble. You're not it. Therefore, you're a civilian, and since you're in my territory, you're my responsibility. If I'm going to establish a pseudo-city-state here, I'm going to make damn sure the people in my borders are cared for."

"This is a city-state?"

"In the making. It's been one problem after another, but the people that come here are happy to stay, which means I've gotta be doing _something_ right."

"Your attitude and dedication are admirable."

"I'm glad you think so. Sometimes people think I'm a self-important jackass," He laughed wryly. "Which, to be fair, I _am_ a jackass; but I do my best to back up my words." He ducked through a tent flap, then grinned. "Oh, Hazel! I ran into another wanderer out there," He gestured behind him as the woman ducked through the tent flap herself. "And I made the usual offer, which she accepted."

He saw the woman raise a hand out of the corner of his eye. "Hello; you are Hazel, then? I am Violette."

Hazel stared a moment, mouth hanging open slightly.

..and then a steel bearing rolled off the table and landed on her foot. " _Ow_ , son of a _bitch_ ," She reached down to pick it up, but a second was hot on the heels of the first, and it nailed her square on the back of the head.

Fortunately the drop was a very short one, but Hazel was clearly less than pleased all the same. " _Fuck_!" She let out a growl of frustration. "Why _now_?! You bastards were perfectly cooperative all day, but as soon as there's a first impression for me to ruin you stage a mutiny!"

Violette blinked, then covered her mouth with a hand to try and stifle a giggle. "She's.. rather animated."

"I promise I'm a professional, this just _looks_ bad," Hazel grumbled. She retrieved the bearings, setting them in a small box on the table.

"Does it? I'm a musician, I wouldn't really know."

Hazel rubbed the back of her head. "Ow.." She looked back again, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, normally I'm not being bested by _ball bearings_ , of all things."

Gunner laughed. "I see you two get along about as well as I had expected. Do you wanna show her around, Hazel, or are you busy?"

"Well, I _am_ busy, technically; but frankly after that if I try to keep working I'm just going to make stupid mistakes because I'm pissed off," She sighed. "I could use a break; I'd be happy to show you around, Violette."

"Are you sure? Gunner said you were second in command, I'm sure you must have better things to do than tend to yet another wayward wanderer."

"If you're gonna live here, I want to know you. So no, this is definitely in line with what I consider my responsibilities to be."

"Very well; I certainly have no issues with this."

Hazel smiled. "Awesome. Let's get going, then."

* * *

Violette looked at the pile of tent poles and canvas in dismay. "..I seem to be rather terrible at this." She murmured, looking around to see if anyone she recognized was nearby; there was but one. Hazel. She stood, dusting herself off, then walked over to the shorter woman. "Erm.. Hazel?" Hazel yelped, shooting upright, and Violette giggled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Hazel blushed, scratching her head in embarrassment; either that or it was a mannerism that was normal, and Violette simply didn't know yet. "It's uh.. It's okay," She looked up to meet Violette's gaze. "What's up? Is everything alright?"

"It turns out I am very bad at setting up tents."

Hazel laughed for a brief moment, then clapped a hand over her mouth. "I am so sorry, I promise I'm not laughing at you, it was just the way you said it."

"I'm not offended, don't worry. You don't seem the type. Besides, from what I've heard of it, your laughter is rather musical, so I certainly won't complain."

Violette was reeling internally; what was _that_ about?! What had gotten _into_ her, that was far beyond what would be considered weird, surely—

"Aww, thanks," To her surprise, Hazel just gave her a cheeky grin. "I've never been told that before—and from a musician, no less; so I can only assume you're qualified to make that judgment. But back to your tent problem," She tilted her head, an expression crossing her face that seemed almost.. concerned? "It's getting dark, do you want me to get a light, or do you want to just set up a bedroll in my tent and figure it out tomorrow?"

It _was_ rather late, wasn't it..? "I.. hadn't considered that as an option, are you sure I wouldn't be imposing..?"

"It's totally fine; I sleep like the dead, and my position does have _some_ creature comforts attached, like a bigger tent. Not enormous, but easily big enough for more than just me."

"I'm surprised you don't have a more permanent structure."

"The ground here is terrible for it. That's my current logistics hurdle; we need to find a good foundation site for real, hard-walled buildings."

"Well, I'll do what I can to assist."

* * *

The two had gotten Violette's things moved into the tent, and it was at this point Hazel realized that while _she_ had tracked down and cleaned up an actual mattress for herself a while back, that would still leave Violette on the ground. She technically didn't owe her anything, but she couldn't help but feel like it was rude. "..Hazel? Are you alright?"

She started; she really needed to stop zoning out around Violette! "Oh! Yeah, uh.. I was just trying to figure out how to handle the sleeping arrangements."

"I have a bedroll, is that not sufficient..?"

"I.. guess I just felt bad that I have an actual bed, and you're sleeping on the ground."

"Well, were it not for your hospitality I would be doing so _outside_."

"I guess that's true.."

"Don't worry, I don't feel like you're wronging me; and besides, unless you intend for us to _both_ sleep in your bed, I don't see what else could be done. Because I am certainly not allowing _you_ to sleep on the ground."

Hazel felt her face heating up as the idea registered in her mind. "That's true, I suppose. I'm just a worrier." ..But that was silly, they barely knew each other; and besides, Violette clearly had no interest in—

It was then that Hazel realized Violette's phrasing did _not_ , in fact, rule out interest on her part.

"A good trait in a leader; compassion goes a long way."

Hazel was pulled out of her thoughts once again, blushing at the praise.

..That was her story and she was sticking to it. "Gunner is the leader; I'm just logistics."

"Nevertheless, your contributions are clearly invaluable."

"..Thanks, Violette."

"Certainly. Well, we should probably go about preparing for bed, it's quite late."

"Oh! Right."

The two settled into their respective sleeping places, but it was another hour before they finally went to sleep; they had gotten to talking about everything and nothing at all, and it was rapidly becoming apparent to both of them that the other was someone they wanted to spend more time with.

* * *

As if to grant their silent wish, the two were awoken in the morning by a deafening thunderclap. Hazel blinked herself awake, hopping up out of bed, only to freeze when she realized Violette was there. She relaxed, reminding herself that she wasn't doing anything wrong. She peeked out of a gap in the tent flap.

"How is it out there?" She looked behind her to see Violette stretching her arms above her head, making a face in the process that Hazel parsed first as 'silly'—but immediately after she found her mind settling on 'adorable'.

She looked back outside, electing not to think about that too hard. "It's _pouring_ ; not much is gonna get done until it lets up."

"I'm sorry; I know you said you were busy."

Hazel shrugged. "Nature is what it is. This at least gives me a guilt-free excuse to take a day off, or at least part of one."

"Well, in that case, would you like me to take my leave so you can rest and re-center?"

"Only if you want to go; I've.. been enjoying talking to you."

"Then I'll stay. I'm having a lovely time as well; you're a very strange woman as compared to the people I knew growing up, and it's delightful."

"Thanks? I think?" Hazel blinked, then laughed. "I suppose that goes both ways, once you put it that way." Violette looked at her for a long moment, and she shifted nervously. "Sorry, was that rude..?"

"No, no, I just.. I had an unusual dream, and.. well, it's something that happened a few months ago. I ran into an odd woman, in a uniform I didn't recognize, and I.." She blushed. "Well, I made a hasty assumption, and decided she must have been a scientist-turned-looter, so I attempted to scare her off with a show of force, but it quickly became apparent she was military, not a scientist."

"Oh no, that sounds like it didn't go well."

"The conflict escalated quickly, yes. Normally I'm more than capable, but.. she had spells I'd never even _seen_ before, and the way she used them.. let's just say I'm grateful she spared my life."

Hazel's eyes were wide. "Oh my god."

"It was a harrowing experience, yes. But in the dream, _you_ were there; and you _knew_ each other, it was very strange."

"Magic does have strange effects on dreams, maybe your proximity to me pulled an image of me in?"

"..I suppose that has to be it. Nevertheless, I feel like you would have gotten along, provided you didn't jump the gun the way I did."

"Why do you say that?"

"She had a complicated device on her arm, so you share an affinity for that, at least."

Hazel felt like the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. "..weird question, but.. Was it a white and chrome gauntlet? A spell-loader, specifically."

Violette started, looking at her in surprise. "Yes; how did you know that?"

"Lab coat, pink skirt and tie, blonde hair?"

"You _do_ know her, then."

Hazel swallowed her anger. "..yeah. You could say that."

"..I take it you're not fond of her."

"She was actually here, two years ago."

"Why didn't she stay?"

"..because _I_ let _her_ live." Hazel looked away, suddenly embarrassed for reasons she couldn't quite explain. "We knew each other.. before the war. We were coworkers, actually, to some extent. But she ignored my warnings, and went ahead with her _batshit insane_ experiment, and before you could blink, the world _tore itself apart_ , just like I said it would!" Hazel took a deep breath to calm herself down. "She got brought in by a patrol, and Gunner left it to me to decide what should be done; in his words, because I was the one among us who had been the most wronged. I told her to get out, and that if I ever saw her again.. I'd kill her myself for what she did."

".. _She_ was the one who caused all this? But.. why would she.. why would she do something like that, then spare _me_..?"

"She's not _evil_ , just.. arrogant." Hazel looked away. "..we were really close, before all of that, and I think that's why I'm so upset. I thought she trusted me more than that."

"I'm sorry to bring up such a painful subject."

"It's alright. It's.. actually kinda nice to be able to talk about her and have someone know even the slightest bit about her for context."

"Well, I have to say, I don't feel nearly as bad about my hasty judgment knowing what you've just told me."

"..I'm glad you're alive, obviously, but.. it does make my opinion of her a lot more conflicted."

"I'm sorry." Violette was quiet a moment, then stood suddenly, and Hazel couldn't help but stare; Violette had been wearing it last night, but seeing her now in an oversized white t-shirt and little else seemed somehow.. _different_ than it did before bed. Hazel was wearing something very similar herself, but.. it still felt like something she shouldn't be privy to, all the same.

..Context was a strange thing.

Hazel was brought back to the present by Violette continuing. "I believe a song is in order; music has always been my refuge, so allow me to ease your mind."

"O-oh, gosh, you don't have to do that—"

"I want to. If you would prefer I not, I will abstain, but it is as much for my benefit as yours."

"..I admit I _have_ been curious about hearing you play.." Hazel ducked her head sheepishly.

Violette laughed, and retrieved her violin from its case. "I had wondered. Well," She gave Hazel a dramatic bow, looking up at her with a wink. "Prepare to be amazed."

Hazel giggled. "I'll prepare as best I can, but if your music is _half_ as graceful as you are I'm not sure if there's much I can do," Her words caught up to her, and she flushed bright red.

She decided that pretending nothing was amiss was the best damage control option she had.

Violette's mouth fell open slightly, and Hazel thought she may have blushed a little bit too, but it was hard to tell. "Thank you, that's quite the compliment," She raised her violin, straightening up. "Now; relax and enjoy."

* * *

Gunner heard the music coming from Hazel's tent, smiling to himself. He had seen that Violette's tent was still in a heap, and assumed that's where she had ended up.

Lance walked up beside him. "How long before Hazel figures it out?"

"That's she got the biggest crush in the universe? Never."

Lance snorted. "I see you have the _utmost_ confidence in her."

"In her ability to let her sense of professionalism squelch her emotions, absolutely. That or her inherent nerves," He thought a moment more. "I've never asked, but come to think of it, I'm not sure if she's ever really been involved with someone."

"Two weeks of night patrol says it takes less than a week."

Gunner raised a brow. "You're _that_ confident, huh?"

"Yep. I've never heard of her flustering like you said she did yesterday, not even _close_. I don't think she'll be able to ignore it; especially not if she's being serenaded like _that_ ," He gestured to the tent.

"..No bet. I still think I'm right, but I also don't think you're _wrong_ , necessarily."

Lance shot Gunner a sidelong glance, smiling to himself. "I've always liked that about you; you're willing to admit you might be wrong."

* * *

Hazel was enthralled. There was really no other way to describe it. Yes, she _was_ watching Violette play, but her focus was centered squarely on watching Violette herself. Her joyous, almost _mischievous_ smile left Hazel with a strange feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach. Awe, perhaps?

The song ended, and Violette slowly lowered her instrument. "..Hazel? Are you alright?"

"Huh?!" Hazel flushed again. "Sorry, I was just kinda lost in the music."

"..forgive me if this is a cultural difference in behavior," Hazel shifted with a nervous expression. "But were you really? Or were you simply watching _me_?"

Hazel hid her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, I must seem like _such_ a weirdo."

Violette gently put away her violin, then carefully sat next to Hazel on the edge of the bed. "Hazel," The girl in question peeked out, but didn't say anything. "I don't think you're a weirdo. If you don't mind me asking, what captured your attention so?"

"..you're.." Hazel trailed off, searching for the words she needed. "You're so _charismatic_ ; I can't help it, I just.. can't look away," She shook her head. "Ugh, that sounds so dumb.."

"I'm flattered, really; I am a performer at heart, and that sort of rapt attention is what every performer hopes to draw from their audience." She smirked. "I set out to help you ease your mind, and it would certainly seem that I succeeded in occupying your thoughts elsewhere."

Hazel spluttered, and Violette laughed. "I—I wasn't—"

"Relax; I'm only teasing you." She shivered abruptly. "Oh, now that I'm not playing the chill is catching up to me.. The rain makes it quite cold around here, doesn't it?"

"Oh gosh, I didn't think about the fact that your native climate might be different—here," With no more thought than that, Hazel pulled back the corner of the blanket on her bed. "It's probably not completely cold yet, so you should be able to warm up fairly quickly."

Violette stared a moment, and Hazel realized that she had once again acted without fully considering how it would seem; this was beginning to look like A Thing around Violette, and she did _not_ like it.

She blushed. "Only if you want to, obviously, I get it if that's weird—"

"It's not," Violette swung her legs around to scoot beneath the blanket, smiling back at her. "You're right, it's quite warm still, actually," She let out a satisfied sigh.

Hazel's face was _burning_. She looked at Violette a few moments more, then quickly looked away; she was unsure how to process the realization that she liked seeing Violette there in _her_ bed.

She liked it a _lot_. That feeling from before came back, and it felt like her stomach was attempting to flip itself over—but not in a bad way?

"So what do you plan to do today?"

"Uh.." Hazel scratched her head sheepishly. "I was thinking I would go over some blueprints."

Violette furrowed her brow. "I thought you said you were taking a day off."

"I uh.. I am." Hazel couldn't bring herself to look over. "..I design things for fun."

"What sort of things?"

Hazel finally did return her attention to Violette, surprised she would ask. "Oh, uh.. well, pretty much anything mechanical around here I designed, or redesigned, or added on to."

"Oh, that's quite the selection, then."

"Yeah, I think some people are a little annoyed that I'm always changing the way things work, but.. I see a way I could make something run better, and I just can't help it, you know?"

"It's your passion, just like music is mine."

"..Yeah, I guess that's a good way to put it."

"I would ask if you would be willing to show me, but I have a feeling I would have no idea what I was looking at."

"You'd really want me to show you my blueprints..?" The feeling in Hazel's stomach intensified—which was itself alarming, since she was having trouble with it already. "Most people have _no_ interest in listening to me ramble about machinery."

"Most people aren't me, as well," Violette grinned mischievously. "As sad as that fact must make them."

Hazel laughed. "You are really something else, huh? I've never met someone who's so elegant, yet so _cheeky_."

"It's a gift." Violette's expression softened. "But, if no one else wants to listen, it's the least I could do; as long as it won't bother you when it goes over my head."

"I.. _really_? I feel guilty making you listen to me."

"If you'll recall, it _was_ me who asked to hear about them, you're not _making_ me do anything."

Hazel blushed. "Well, alright, I can't say no to that," She tried to avoid letting her excitement show too much as she crossed the tent to her desk, picking up a stack of thin sheets of paper. She perched on the edge of the bed, laying the stack beside her.

"While I likely won't be able to make heads or tails of them, I would at least like to try, so you should probably sit so that they're right-side-up for both of us."

Hazel's heart leapt into her throat. She was right, but.. the only option for that was to sit next to Violette, and there wasn't _that_ much room, so they'd be _very_ close. "O-oh, right," She awkwardly shuffled over to sit cross-legged next to Violette, who had shifted to sit upright against the headboard.

"It's all well and good if you wish to remain above the blanket, but if you get cold don't feel like you need to maintain distance; close physical proximity is normal where I come from."

Hazel blinked, and the feeling receded somewhat. She felt a bit more at ease knowing that she wasn't going to make her uncomfortable. "Was my worrying really that obvious..?"

"You mentioned you were a worrier, and you have goosebumps; it wasn't too terribly difficult to extrapolate."

Hazel slipped under the covers, laughing. "I guess that's true. So," She laid the blueprint out flat, pressing it down.

"Oh, there's much more than it seemed; is the paper transparent?"

"Sort of, yeah; it's like that so I can keep different layers or mechanisms easy to work with, but I don't have to make a ton of extra diagrams to see multiple at once."

"That's quite clever!"

Hazel blushed. "It's just standard industry stuff," Her shoulders fell slightly. "Or.. was, anyway."

She stiffened a moment when Violette wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."

"No, no, I absolutely want to, I just keep dwelling on the past," Hazel was kicking herself; why couldn't she just relax and have a good time with Violette? This was the first time someone had expressed active interest in hearing about her designs, she didn't want to scare her off, and besides, she _liked_ Violette—

 _Oh_.

..A _lot_ of things suddenly made a _lot_ more sense, and Hazel felt her face heating up again. She was in her bed with Violette's arm around her, sharing her passion project. Not only was it incredibly intimate, but—in her eyes—it was also incredibly _romantic_ , and she was not prepared to handle that.

But Violette didn't think of physical closeness that way, so she should just set it aside, and pretend nothing was amiss. Right? Right. "Anyway, this is a design for a more compact air filtration unit."

"Alright, I'm with you so far, so I'm counting that as a victory," Violette grinned, and Hazel felt that feeling in her stomach return with a _vengeance_.

"Aw, don't sell yourself short, Vi."

Violette blinked owlishly, and Hazel was sure she was going to die of embarrassment. _Way to go, gearhead, definitely doing a good job not making it weird.._

Then Violette smiled, a real genuine smile that pinched her eyes at the corners, and Hazel knew she was doomed. "'Vi'; it's cute. I like it. And you're right, I shouldn't count myself out so easily."

Hazel's voice was barely more than a squeak. "Glad you like it," She coughed and looked back to the blueprint; she understood how to deal with that. "Anyway, I took one apart, and there was a lot of space being used to cool the unit; so I decided to see if I could use the output airflow for cooling instead of having a separate assembly."

"That seems very simple; why didn't the original designers do that?"

"If I had to guess, they didn't want it to output hot air. But for our purposes, it doesn't matter, and it's not like it's a permanent design decision, since it's all retrofitting, we're not _manufacturing_ them."

"Retrofitting?"

"Taking something already built and adapting it to use something new. It's probably more accurate to call it an upgrade, but there _is_ a trade-off, so I guess it should be just 'modification'; but that sounds lame, so."

Violette giggled. "A very technical reason indeed."

Hazel pouted. "Let me sound cool, dammit."

"Oh, you do, don't worry. Your talents are very impressive, no matter how you describe them."

And then Violette would say things like _that_. How could she be expected to play it cool in the face of Violette's boundless charm? She ducked her head bashfully. "You're exaggerating."

"Very well; _I_ think you sound cool. I would even go as far as to say that I think you _are_ cool."

Hazel was so unbelievably screwed. She could _not_ deal with this, Violette was just too cute. "Flatterer."

Violette giggled. "Believe what you will, but you won't change _my_ mind on the subject."

"Now hang on, _Gunner_ is cool; I'm just a huge nerd."

"And why should that disqualify you from being cool? In case you hadn't noticed, you're the second in command of the largest settlement of the area; you are quite literally helping to establish the region's cultural norms for the years to come. Why shouldn't you be considered impressive? I'm talented, yes, but you bring things into being to make people's lives better," Violette smiled gently. "What more could anyone possibly ask of you? I can't think of anything more admirable than that."

Hazel hid her face, face burning. "Oh my god, Vi," She peeked back out after a few moments. "..sorry, I'm just not used to people saying things like that, and now you're here telling me that I'm some figure to look up to."

"But you are," Hazel felt a gentle hand on her cheek, and her breath hitched. "Hazel, why don't you believe yourself worthy of praise, or adoration? You're talented, and you clearly know it; why are you so mired in self-doubt?"

Hazel was backed into a corner; she wasn't usually bothered by praise, she was flustered by hearing it from _Violette_ , and she had no idea how to explain it otherwise. "I guess I'm just surprised someone as talented as you would be so impressed."

_There; the truth, but vague enough to not make me look like a creep who got a schoolgirl crush after **one day** ,_

Violette withdrew, surprised. "I.. didn't realize you thought so highly of _me_."

Hazel looked over in disbelief. "How could I not?! You're amazing at the violin, and you speak and carry yourself so elegantly," She turned to face Violette before barreling ahead. "But you're also witty, and confident without being rude, and charismatic, not to mention _stunning_."

There was a long silence as the two stared at each other; Violette in shock, Hazel in growing horror and mortification at letting her words get ahead of her, _again_.

_Well, shit. That's.. there's no coming back from that one._

Violette clutched her hands to her chest. "..Hazel, you.." Hazel winced, looking away. "..do you really feel that way?"

"I.. don't suppose I can convince you to forget this happened, and pretend I didn't just make a total ass of myself," She looked over with a nervous smile.

"Hazel—" Violette's tone was clipped. "Enough is enough," Hazel shrank in on herself, looking away again. "No, look at me."

 _Guess it was nice while it lasted._ Hazel looked back, swallowing when she saw the fiery look on Violette's face.

"Hazel, you are _incredible_ , and I'm not going to let you speak that way about yourself. You hear me? Speaking from the heart like that is _nothing_ to be ashamed of." Violette reached out and took her hands, expression turning warm; but despite that, its intensity never wavered. "I'm honored you would say those things about me."

Hazel was stunned. "You.. you're not.. upset..?"

"Not in the _slightest_. I have a lot of feelings about what you just said; but upset is not one of them." Violette gently ran her thumbs over the backs of Hazel's hands.

"..how? I just.. you.. how does it not bother you that some woman you just met is so.. infatuated."

Violette's thumbs halted. "..it goes _that far_?"

"Shit, I thought—I thought you couldn't have possibly not noticed, I'm sorry, pretend I didn't—"

"Shhh," Hazel cut off as Violette gently laid a finger across her lips, then moved to cup her cheek again. "Hazel, I am just as enamored with you as you are with me."

".. _why_?"

Violette's brow furrowed, and she huffed. "Hazel, what did I _just_ say? Stop that! You are every bit as deserving of affection as anyone else!" She drew herself up, nodding decisively. "And if you won't believe it, I'll just have to keep telling you until you do."

"You—what—" Hazel spluttered, still completely transfixed by the look on Violette's face, and her face burned where Violette's hand remained on her cheek.

"You are delightful, Hazel. I want to spend more time with you, if you'll allow it."

"I—if _I'll_ allow it?! If I'll _allow_ it?! How could I _not_ want to spend time with you? And what gives me the authority to _allow_ you anything?"

Violette raised an eyebrow. "Being second in command of a burgeoning city-state? You are someone with the authority to make the rules almost by definition."

"..Oh, yeah.. Sorry, I just.. it's all happened so fast, I don't.." She shook her head, causing Violette to take her hand away. "Wait, go back, are you—this can't be real, you really want to spend your time with _me_?"

Violette was unamused. "You're doing it again, Hazel."

"I—" Hazel frowned, crossing her arms and glaring defiantly up at Violette. "Too bad, I have a right to the way I feel!"

Violette started backward slightly. "Wha—" She was quiet a moment. "..You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't tell you what you should or shouldn't feel, that was presumptuous of me." She scooted closer— _much_ closer—and took Hazel's hands again. "What can I do to help you? Do you _want_ to be helped, or should I let you face this yourself?"

"I.. I don't know. I've never had this problem before, I've never met anyone who made me _feel_ like this."

"Am I the _first person_ you've developed an interest in like this..? Surely there must have been others before me."

Hazel shook her head. "It just.. never seemed important. I was making things, and solving problems, and I loved doing it; it just didn't seem like a good use of time. But you.." She trailed off for a few moments, but Violette was clearly waiting for her to finish the sentence. "..being around you—even for as little time as it's been—I've never wanted to sit and talk with someone like we did last night, not as a primary activity."

"To think I could catch the eye of a woman like you," Violette shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. "And here I find I'm the most interesting person you've ever met, somehow."

"It's more than just that; I don't only want to talk to you to learn about something for a _purpose_ , I just.. I want to know what you've seen, where you've been, who you _are_. I've never wanted to know that about someone before. You have a lifetime of experiences behind you, the same as everyone else; but for whatever reason.. I can't help but want to know _yours_."

Violette stared a moment, then slowly smiled, the warmth almost tangible. "..where would you like to start?"

* * *

"So I can't help but notice you still haven't set up Violette's tent," Lance commented idly.

Hazel blushed. "We're.. not going to."

He looked up in surprise. "She's just moving in with you?"

"I.. hadn't really thought about it like that, but yeah, I guess."

"Wow." He smiled. "..I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy. You deserve it. I've been through some shit like everyone else, but you and Gunner.. you really got the rough end of things."

"..Yeah. But hey, that's the past, this is the future. And I'll be damned if I let it be rough on anyone else, if I can help it."

"Truly an inspiration to us all."

Hazel jumped, holding a hand to her chest. "Jesus, Vi."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Vi, huh? That your nickname?"

"Only if it's her."

Hazel blinked. "Wait, really?"

Lance laughed. "Man, you two have it _bad_."

Hazel huffed, crossing her arms. "Hey! Don't make fun of me."

Violette shrugged. "If admiring Hazel is a crime, I will see myself to the jail."

Lance whistled as Hazel spluttered. "You know what you're about; I respect that."

"Thank you."

"Vi, how do you just _say_ stuff like that?!"

"Very confidently. It helps that you're rather adorable when you're flustered like that."

Lance just laughed as Hazel hid her face in her hands.

* * *

Gunner looked over at Violette. "So, you and Hazel, huh? Can't say I expected you two to get along _that_ well, but you're both obviously happy."

"I must thank you for inviting me into your community; I would likely have never met her otherwise, and that would be a tragedy. You're right, she makes me very happy. I had lost a lot of faith in the future, in our ability to rebuild. I was convinced we would be a society of tribes and raiding parties until long after I was dead and gone. But you and Hazel are making something wonderful here. And I want to be a part of it."

"I'm glad to have you; she's happier than she's been the entire time I've known her, and your skills are invaluable in their own right. Any practical benefits aside, though, you're nice, and you're fun to be around. Even if you hadn't gotten together, I'd still be happy you were here."

"That means a lot to me. Thank you."

"No problem."

* * *

"Erm.. Hello, I am known as Reva," A woman in armor stood with her hands raised, nervously eyeing the turrets. A large shield was leaned against her leg. "I mean no harm."

"Alright; what brings you here?"

"I heard there was a large settlement forming; that makes you a target. I want to keep people safe. You have a lot of people who need safety. Need I say more?"

"I would say that seems unlikely, but the armor and shield are way too high quality to be props. I'll go get the chief."

"The.. chief?"

"Sorry; we were a tribe at first, and we haven't figured out a better title."

"Ah."

The guard left, and a few moments later, he returned with Gunner in tow. "Oh, it's you."

The guard looked at Gunner. "You know her?"

"Yeah, ran into her a long time ago. You lookin' to set up shop here? We could definitely use someone with your skillset."

She stared at Gunner in disbelief. " _You're_ the chief?!"

"Man, why does everyone say that?!" He scowled. "What the hell?"

"You—You're a _mercenary_! If the price was right, you—"

"I don't know who you are, but I wouldn't finish that sentence." Everyone turned to look at Hazel, who had just arrived. "He did what he had to. Now that he _doesn't_ have to? He doesn't."

Reva was confused. "Who are you?"

"Call me Hazel. I was the Pioneer before the apocalypse, if that means anything to you. I'm this city's planner, engineer, and all around logistics expert." She pointed at Gunner. "He manages the people, I manage the resources."

"..Very well. I don't know what the Pioneer was, but I can respect your dedication to creating something that will last; both of you. I apologize."

Gunner nodded. "Then we're square. Glad to have you."

* * *

Reva sidled up to Lance, who looked at her strangely. "You can just talk to me like a normal person, you know."

Reva flushed. "Sorry, I'm just.." She sighed. "I was going to ask about Hazel, because she seems interesting, but she's somewhat intimidating."

Lance stared up at her. " _You_? Intimidated?"

"If there is anything I've learned, it's that the person who builds the turrets builds more than just turrets, and I don't want to find out the hard way."

"She's not gonna hurt you unless you cause trouble, which seems like the _opposite_ of your MO."

"..She's also very pretty, and I have never done very well with talking to people I find attractive."

Lance shook his head. "Unbelievable; why can't any of the people who show up like me? But no, they've all gotta have a thing for Hazel," He shook his head.

"I'm not the first, then?"

"No, and you probably won't be the last."

"But it doesn't matter, because she's mine." Another voice chimed in, and the two turned to see Violette with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. "For as long as she wants to be, at least, though I have no intention of giving her a reason to change her mind."

Reva blinked. "..Message received. I will keep our interactions strictly friendly or professional."

"Thank you. That being said, I am Violette. I would apologize for making my first impression that way; but that would be a lie."

Lance barked out a laugh. "You are fucking _ruthless_."

"Only when it comes to Hazel."

"My name is Reva; and don't worry, I can respect that sort of fierce protectiveness." She held up her shield slightly. "It's kind of my thing."


	4. Warden

"Violette?!"

Her head whipped around. "Fiona?!"

"What are _you_ doing here, I thought you were traveling south!"

"They invited me to stay, which was reason enough for me; but then I met Hazel," A smile crossed her face.

"No way, you're friends with the mechanic?! It took a year before I could pull her away from her work for more than ten minutes."

"Oh, hey, it's you," Hazel walked up. "Good timing Fiona, I've been running low on a few specialty parts," She turned to Violette, leaning up to give her a kiss. "Hey sweetheart."

Fiona's jaw dropped open. " _Sweetheart_?! Violette, you're _dating_ Hazel?!"

Hazel pouted. "Oh come on, _rude_."

"I didn't mean it _that_ way; you've _never_ been interested in dating the entire time I've been stopping here, you can't tell me that's not true."

She huffed. "..Fair."

"What can I say, I suppose I'm just that charming."

Fiona laughed. "I see you haven't changed a bit."

"Wait, Vi, you know her?"

"We've known each other a long time, yes. I was one of her first customers."

"And I still appreciate you for it! I— _wait, **VI**?!_ You let her _nickname_ you!?"

Violette blushed. "Oh dear.."

Fiona clapped a hand over her mouth. "Shit, she doesn't know why that's a big deal, does she."

"I hadn't explained it, no."

Hazel gently touched Violette's shoulder. "You don't have to if you don't want to; I got the gist when I found out I'm the only one who gets to call you that."

Violette smiled back. "Thank you. It's cultural, so the particulars are not important." She waved to Fiona. "I have to be off, I'm meeting Lance for some basic instruction on how to manage Hazel's supply ledgers, since they're apparently their own separate affair."

Fiona laughed. "Sounds like Hazel alright."

Hazel shook her head as Violette left. "I just can't catch a break around here," She handed Fiona her supply list. "Here; I've gotta get going too, but Gunner should be around soon," She shot Fiona a pointed look.

Fiona blushed. "I'm on the job, now is not the time!"

"You're a merchant, you're _always_ on the job! Fiona, you've been admiring Gunner for _ages_ , just say something; ask if he wants to sit and hear about some of the places you've been, I don't know."

"Nope! No way, I cannot do that, I would die of embarrassment."

"Is now a bad time? I can come back later."

Fiona squeaked when she heard Gunner's voice only a short distance away. "How long have you been there?!"

"Long enough to hear the words 'I would die of embarrassment', and that's about it."

"Cool, and that's all you need to know; what can I get for you?"

Hazel shot her another pointed glance, then waved to Fiona as she left. "Alright, duty calls."

Gunner walked closer, casually high-fiving Hazel as she passed. "I actually don't _need_ anything; I wanted to let you know that with all the expansion and stuff we're starting to develop a real organizational structure, so I won't be your primary point of contact anymore."

Fiona's heart sank, but she put on her best merchant smile. "Oh, I'm so proud of you guys! You're gonna be like, a real city in no time, I just know it!"

"Hey, we couldn't do it without supplies, and we have you to thank for that." He grinned. "No one else was willing to make the trip for the longest time, but you're just tough as nails, aren'tcha?"

"I can take care of myself, but that might be going a bit far."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged. "But anyway, you'll be working with Cross from here on out; he should be by pretty soon."

"Cross, huh? I expected Arch, or Freight, that's not really Cross' expertise."

"Yeah, Cross needs to learn management skills."

"So you land me with the neophyte; thanks Gunner, really doing me a solid there," She shook her head with a laugh.

"Sorry, I just know I can trust you not to take advantage of him, and that you won't put up with any of his belligerent horseshit when he doesn't understand things."

She blinked. "..Oh," She swayed side to side slightly, looking away for a moment. "Thanks, Gunner."

There was a brief silence. "Hey—" They both halted, having spoken at the same time. "No, you—"

Fiona giggled, and Gunner hung his head slightly with a smile. A third voice called over. "Oh come on, boss, I don't need babysitting."

Gunner rolled his eyes, raising an eyebrow at Cross. "Yeah, I _know_ that, numbnuts; did it maybe occur to you that Fiona and I might be actual friends?"

Cross stopped next to them. "Oh, right.. Sorry."

Gunner clapped him on the back affectionately. "It's alright, man; it just shows you're serious about doing a good job." He looked at Fiona again. "You know how to find me, yeah?"

"Big command tent?"

"..Shit, it _has_ been that long, huh? No, things have changed a bit; tell you what, Cross can give you the major landmark tour, and then you can come find me and we can talk about whatever it was you wanted to talk about just now. Sound good?"

She nodded quickly. "Sounds good! Can't wait!" She winced internally, but did her best not to show it.

"Cool. Later."

He left, and after a few moments of her staring after him, Cross raised a brow. "You got a thing for the boss, don't you."

Fiona jumped in surprise. "What?! Why would you think that?"

"Uh, 'cause he's fucking _awesome_? He seems like your type if you kick as much ass as he says you do—"

"Wait, he talks about me?"

"Wha—shit, don't say anything, I shouldn't have mentioned that, probably."

"No, go back, what does he say?"

Cross raised a brow. "You're really not doing a good job hiding your interest, there."

"Hey! You said it first, he's awesome, I wanna know what he has to say about me."

"No way, I am _not_ shooting myself in the foot like that."

* * *

Fiona knocked on the door to the command center, then stepped back to look at the building; it was impressive, obviously built to last—possibly through a _battle_ , even.

The door opened, and Lance poked his head out. "Oh, Fiona; Gunner said you might be coming."

"Might?"

Lance shrugged. "He didn't want to assume, said you're a busy lady who's probably got shit to do," He stepped out of the way. "Come on in."

She stepped inside, looking around. "Nice place; though I would expect nothing less from Hazel."

"Yeah, she's a hell of an engineer." He jerked his head to a door on the side of the room. "That leads upstairs, to Gunner's war room."

" _His_ war room? Are there two?" Fiona laughed.

"Yep."

She recoiled slightly, shocked. "Wait, seriously? That was a joke!"

"Nope. There's two, one in the back, and one up there. He lives up there, the whole top floor—which I guess is only two rooms, but it's still the whole thing—anyway, said he wanted to have a proper map and place to plan, so it's like a mini one for when he's up all hours of the night."

"Insomnia?"

"Ask him yourself, I've already said too much."

"You guys are all really cagey about him."

"Have you _met_ Gunner? That guy is like, the _definition_ of cagey."

Fiona blinked. She had _not_ noticed that; either he wasn't cagey with _her_ , or their conversations just never touched on those subjects. "I guess that's fair. Anyway, later, Lance."

"Later," She turned to the door, then looked back at Lance, opening her mouth. "Just go in, you don't gotta knock."

She blushed, going upstairs. "Hey, Gunner," She called up ahead of her—she didn't want to startle him, she knew he probably didn't take those well.

"Oh, Fiona!" His head poked out over the stairwell, and he leaned on the railing, grinning. "So what do you think? Refuge really is almost like a real town, right?"

She walked upstairs, laughing. "You're so excited, it's cute." She didn't notice the stunned look on his face. "Yeah, it does feel like a real city. You've got a lot to be proud of."

"Y-yeah. Thanks, I.. that means a lot, this is pretty much the entire reason I _am_ , at this point."

She furrowed her brow. "Hey now, you've got value outside being the head honcho around here, you've got plenty of people who like you for you."

"Yeah, but they all live _here_."

She crossed her arms. " _I_ don't."

"Amendment; they're all _tied_ to here, you said we were your biggest customer at one point, right?"

"I can get new customers." She walked over, poking him in the nose. "I can't get a new Gunner."

He stared at her a moment, blinking a few times. "..huh."

She blushed furiously. "So don't go dying on me, you hear?"

He nodded slowly after a moment. "Yeah. I won't." He cracked a smile. "As if someone could take me down."

She rolled her eyes, laughing. "Aaand ruined the moment."

"Oh, shit," He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I'm not great at reading the atmosphere; I was a warlord for a long time, and the atmosphere was just kinda whatever I said it was, ya know?"

Did he just _apologize_? _Gunner_? "Hey, you wouldn't be you without the cocky bravado."

He grinned. "Yeah, that's true, and you _did_ just say you like me for me."

"Oh no, what have I done," She deadpanned, before smiling. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Huh? I wanted to know what _you_ wanted to talk about."

They looked at each other a moment. "Um."

"Dammit, sorry, I didn't mean to make you haul ass out here for nothing."

"No, no, it's just.. it doesn't really matter? I was gonna ask if you wanted to like, sit and talk, or.. something," She finished lamely. "But then you invited me to come here, so like.. question answered?"

He stared, then burst out laughing. "I cannot—I was gonna ask if you wanted to come chat awhile whenever you stopped in town, since I wasn't gonna see you for business."

"..Really? I thought you were delegating to Cross so you'd have more time for other things."

"Having a social life is still 'other things', as Violette keeps reminding me."

Fiona snorted. "Yeah, she's like that."

"Oh yeah, you guys know each other, don't you?"

She nodded. "We're from the same region, so we have a lot in common."

"Okay, I gotta know; what is the deal with the nickname thing? Why is Hazel the _only_ one she lets call her by a nickname?"

"Wow, news travels fast."

"Huh? News of what?"

"Oh, I accidentally said something that tipped Hazel off that it wasn't a Violette thing, it's a cultural thing."

"I'd just kinda already gathered that, so that's why I asked; if _you're_ from there too I don't wanna call you something that's not 'Fiona' without thinking about it and make things weird or whatever."

She held a hand to her heart. "Aww, Gunner! That's really sweet," She smiled. "You can't tell Hazel, 'cause I think Violette wants to keep it to herself, but.. names are _important_ where we're from. They're not just a label, they're part of who you _are_."

"Oh, damn."

"'Oh damn' indeed. Letting someone give you a different name means you're accepting that name as part of you; you think that it's worth having, for whatever reason. If I had to guess.. Hazel did it without knowing it was a big deal, and Violette _really_ liked hearing it, so she just took it."

"Yeah, Violette crashed with Hazel the first night she was here, 'cause she sucks at putting up tents, and then it rained like a motherfucker; so they spent like, a day and a half straight together, and the rest is history. _Totally_ smitten, both of them."

Fiona covered her mouth. "Oh my god that's _precious_ ; and Hazel isn't even someone to be romantically inclined, normally, so it must have hit her like a truck."

"It did. Violette is the only one who can make Hazel blush practically on cue."

There was a brief silence.

Fiona giggled. "Maybe we should sit down."

"Oh, right."

They didn't move; they were still standing hardly two feet apart from when Fiona had walked into nose-poking range, and neither was particularly inclined to put more distance between them. "You kinda have to lead the way, I don't have any idea where things are around here."

"Uh.. I have a couple chairs, and a couch we salvaged a while back; it looks really ratty, but Hazel cobbled together a steam cleaner for her mattress ages ago, and we've been using it to clean up any fabric or cushions we find."

"Whoa, really? This I gotta see, there is a _market_ for not-gross cushions."

"Always looking for the next deal, huh?"

"You know it!" She winked.

He coughed in an attempt to hide a blush, waving for her to follow. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

"Shit, it's like.. super late, I'm sorry, you probably needed to be headed out, didn't you?"

Fiona shook her head. "It's alright, I've been having a good time. Not a lot of good company out on the road." She absolutely _had_ planned on heading out, but then she ended up sprawled on Gunner's couch, and she _really_ didn't want to leave this—leave _him_ —behind.

Gunner's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Okay, cool. So.. what's the plan?"

"The plan?"

"Yeah, like. You just headed out anyway, you gonna stay in town."

 _..well I **want** to stay **here** ,_ She turned towards him to answer, and realized two things: One, she'd said that out loud. Two, he had _definitely_ heard it.

She was going to die of embarrassment. _See Hazel? I **told** you,_

"I mean—yeah, sure, I can track down some extra blankets and stuff."

Fiona was torn. Did she want to correct him? He obviously thought she meant staying on the couch, so she had an out, but.. He'd been so sweet all night, which was totally different than his usual; it was like he was a different _person_ when it was just the two of them.

You know what? If he did things like talk about how she kicked ass, he'd at least respect her going for it. Gunner stood, taking a step towards his room to go searching, presumably, but her hand shot out to catch his wrist. "That's.. not what I meant."

He started, slowly looking back at her. She looked away, too embarrassed to make eye contact.

"Sorry if that's weird, I know you're not really the romantic type, so I understand if you're not interested," He barked out a laugh, and she bristled. "Oh, fuck you! You didn't have to _laugh_ at me!" She turned away, walking towards the stairs with tears in her eyes.

..So much for him being sweet on her. "Fiona, wait!"

The door slammed behind her.

* * *

The woman in the white and yellow robe raised a hand. "Perish."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice spoke up from right behind her, and she halted.

"How?! No one can sneak up on me! Why can't I sense your magic?!"

"Because I don't have any. Bone fide abomination. Now drop the staff before I put a hole in your head."

"You wouldn't, you can't be more than twenty, you don't have the conviction to kill m—" She cut off with an agonized scream as Gunner shot her through the back of the knee, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Don't test me, bitch. I've killed a lot of people, and you wouldn't be any different. Drop the staff. _Now_." She did. Gunner looked back and jerked his head towards the girl on the ground, and Reva thundered into the clearing, skidding to a halt between the girl and her assailant.

Violette was hot on her heels, kneeling next to the girl. "Can you walk?"

"..I—I don't think so," The girl was moments from bursting into tears, and she grit her teeth. "..Pretty sure my legs are broken."

Violette growled under her breath, glaring at the woman in the robe a moment. She looked back. "Reva—that's Reva, in the armor—she's going to help you, okay?" She stood, walking up to take Reva's place. "I'll stand guard, Reva, she needs your help; I can't heal her, it's not something I can do," Reva nodded, and Violette could hear her murmuring gently to the girl behind her after a few moments. She raised her violin, staring the robed woman down.

Soon enough, Reva hoisted the girl onto her shoulders and made her way towards the city. Gunner backed away from the woman, signaling for Violette to follow Reva, and the two began to leave. "Wait, you can't just leave me with a broken leg!"

Gunner stopped, but didn't turn around. "Watch me. Or would you rather I just kill you?"

"You'll pay for this."

He waved a hand lazily, setting off again. "Heard that one before, not impressed."

* * *

"What's your name?"

The girl sniffed, clinging to Lance, who looked incredibly out of his depth. "..Selicy."

Violette nodded. "Were you traveling alone?"

"..yeah."

"Well, you can stay here as long as you want. Welcome to Refuge; you're safe here."

"Thank you, for saving me."

"I'm glad to. Do you want me to show you around, or do you want to stay here with Lance?" She just hugged him a little tighter. "Okay; if you need anything, you can find me in the building near the middle of town, okay?"

"Okay," Selicy nodded, wiping away her tears.

"..I'll do what I can, but why me?" Lance was still bewildered.

"..sorry. I know this is probably super weird.. You.. remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. He was also named Lance, actually.." She trailed off. "He'd always say he'd keep me safe, and that I could count on him. But then.."

He was staring at her with wide eyes, but she couldn't see. He looked at Violette, mouthed 'I'll explain later', and shooed her away. She seemed puzzled, but she shrugged and left. He looked back at Selicy. "..But then?"

"..Then the soldiers came, and tried to take all the kids.." He sucked in a sharp breath. "..He could have gotten away. But.. one of them grabbed me, and he turned back." She let out a teary laugh. "Kicked the bastard right in the face. And then they grabbed _him_. I can still hear him, he looked at me, told me 'Run!' Told me.." She swallowed. "God, we were just stupid kids, I was only nine, I think, and he was eleven; but we'd grown up together, and he—he said.."

"..'Run, and never look back. I love you, Selene.'"

Her head shot up. " _LANCE_?! You—you're really _my_ Lance..? You're _alive_..?!"

Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm alive, and _you're_ alive, god, Selene—"

"I'm—not Selene anymore. I'm Selicy. I know it's dumb, but—I had to leave who I was behind, I couldn't—" She hiccuped, a choked sob escaping her throat. She pressed her forehead to his chest again.

He rocked her slightly. "Hey, Selicy, it's okay— _I'm_ okay, I'm here, and we're both grown up now; we can take care of each other. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"Lance, I never—this feels stupid, and it probably doesn't even mean anything anymore, but I don't _care_ ," She looked back up. "From nine-year-old Selene to eleven-year-old Lance; I love you too. I never got to tell you, and it's _haunted_ me ever since."

He held her tightly. "You don't owe me anything, Selicy; we're different people now, but I will _always_ have your back, no matter what."

"I _know_ that, dumbass! I told you because it was something _I_ wish I'd said! God, you haven't changed at all."

He smiled sadly. "I wish that were true.. I can see that you're just as feisty as ever, though."

"..yeah, but you love that about me, don't lie."

"I really do. Always have."

"..Why did it have to be this way? Why did we have to _suffer_?" She grit out. "Those bastards better not have hurt you.." He didn't answer, and she sighed. "..I had a feeling that would be your answer."

"..but I didn't say anything."

"I know, jackass. That's still an answer, it's just implied. They did hurt you. I don't want to know.. not right now, at least. Someday I will, but not right now." She trembled, and he held her tighter.

"Hey.. don't worry. It's okay, they can't hurt me again."

"I appreciate it, but I'm not scared," He gave her a confused look. "I'm _furious_ ; they better hope they never cross paths with me, because if they do I'm going to _freeze_ them to death, _**slowly**_."

He stared at her in horror. "Sele—Selicy, what have you _been_ through..?"

"..Do you really want to know?"

"..Later. Like you said. But.. for better or worse, you won't be running into them."

"You killed them, then?"

"Gunner did. He got us out of there, killed half of them practically by himself. The last few tried to run, or hide, but.. he hunted them down."

"Gunner?"

"The guy with the weird rifle who was there with Violette and Reva."

"Oh, yeah, that's guy's hardcore, he shot the lady who attacked me in the back of the knee," Selicy scowled. "..Bitch."

"..She's still alive?"

"I don't know. Maybe they didn't want to kill her in front of me. I know I look young. Even if they didn't, they left her in the middle of nowhere with a blown out knee; she's gonna be dead soon if she isn't already." She looked up at him, finally cracking a small smile. "Why, were you gonna go defend my honor?"

"..I guess you could call it that."

"Ah; so it was more of a 'torture her to death for hurting my Selicy' kinda thing."

"I.."

"Lance, I already said I'd kill the guys that hurt you via _hypothermia_ , you're in good company."

"..Then yeah. I don't know if I'd go as far as to call it _torture—_ I'd probably just shoot her before she knew what happened."

She nodded. "Cruelty never was something you had in you," They were quiet for a long moment. "..Alright, I'm done dancing around this; are we taking another shot at the whole dating thing, or we settling on the ride-or-die best friends dynamic?"

"It doesn't seem like we've changed all that much besides growing up and the awful shit we've been through, so.. I think I can pretty safely say I'm still crazy about you, even if those feelings _were_ trapped in amber for eleven years."

"Good, because I never stopped loving you, either. Kiss me, Lance."

"Uh.. we should do this somewhere else, because no one else knows we know each other, and that would look really bad."

"Oh. Yeah, that's.. fair." She thought a moment. "Well.. why don't you show me around, and I can meet your friends."

He smiled, fighting back tears. "..I'd love to." The two set off towards the center of town. "I never really thought I'd get to do this.. Show you around town, show you that despite everything.. I'm part of something worthwhile."

She looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Gunner founded Refuge, along with our old mercenary band turned nomad tribe; I'm the quartermaster. I make sure everyone has the supplies they need, and if they don't, I make sure Hazel—she's second in command, she does logistics—I make sure she knows what we're short on."

"Still finding ways to take care of people, huh?" She gently bumped her shoulder against his. "You mother hen types are all the same."

"..It makes me feel like I'm doing something that matters. I can't bring back the people I've killed, but.. I can do my best to make sure no one _needs_ to kill anyone anymore. And if they do anyway, then Reva can track them down."

"She's _also_ pretty hardcore; like.. how _tall_ is she? She looks like she's six and a half feet tall, and the plate armor?"

"She's six-foot-three in the armor. I know because she barely fits through a couple of our smaller salvaged doorframes."

Selicy giggled. "I like this new practical, responsible side of you. We never had the chance to do things like this as kids." She smiled softly. "Responsibility is a good look on you."

He blushed. "Yeah? I'm.. glad you think so." They arrived at the building Violette had mentioned, and he knocked.

The violinist opened the door, surprised. "Oh, Lance; are you alright? Now you _both_ look like you've been crying."

"That's because he has been," Selicy giggled at his dismayed expression. "I was clinging to him like that because he reminded me of someone from my past, my closest childhood friend; a guy named Lance, who saved me from being kidnapped by soldiers. Sound familiar?"

"And he's the _same_ Lance? What are the odds?" Violette laughed, shaking her head. "Reunited after all these years."

Lance smiled down at Selicy. "Yeah. Here we are, eleven years later; and we're _not_ letting that happen again."

"Come in, come in! Hazel should be home soon."

* * *

The firing range was empty, except for Gunner. He methodically put a shot through each of the translucent targets as fast as the machine spit them out.

It was _still_ too easy. He growled and slapped a hand down on the toggle switch; it was already set to max, that was all he was gonna get.

He turned to leave, halting when he saw Phantom. "Oh, hey. Everything good?"

"For the town? Yeah. For you? Doesn't look like it to me."

Gunner snorted. "What gave me away."

"What's going on, man? You haven't been upset like this in ages."

"I'm the world's biggest idiot, next question," He muttered.

"Bull _shit_ , that's a cop-out answer and you know it," Phantom crossed his arms. "Either start talking, or I'm gonna start piecing it together myself from your body language; and I _know_ you hate that, I'm not fucking around."

"..I fucked things up with Fiona."

Phantom's arms dropped, his posture loosening. "Oh, man.. I.. there's really not anything anyone can say, huh?"

"No, not really. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I really don't wanna talk about it."

Phantom sighed. "I know you don't, but as much as I hate to say it, you gotta; even if only so I can run interference for ya, because the other guys _will_ notice eventually."

Gunner sighed. "..Yeah, you're probably right. I know you're a good guy; but promise me you won't talk about this?"

"I mean, I'm gonna talk to Striker about it, but I'm not sure if that counts at this point."

"Yeah, not really; you sleep in the same bed, it'd be like expecting Hazel not to talk to Violette about something serious," He took a deep breath, letting it out in another long sigh. "I asked her to stop by to just kinda talk, and we talked for like, four hours."

"That sounds like it was going great, what _happened_?"

"She asked if she could stay, and she was being all cute and nervous about it, and she said 'I know you're not the romantic type, so I understand if you're not interested,' and—"

Phantom let out a sharp laugh. "As _if_ , you've been nuts about her forever."

Gunner stared at Phantom for a few moments. "..Yeah, that's.. _exactly_ what I did, except I didn't make it past the laugh, 'cause she thought I was laughing at _her_."

"Oh, _shit_ ; and she just stormed out before you could explain, didn't she."

Gunner nodded sadly. "Didn't see her again after, and she left the next day, and now I get to live with making her cry for the next three months, or however long it ends up being before she comes back," He looked at Phantom gratefully. "Honestly.. I actually feel a lot better, that you laughed the same way I did, at least I know I'm not a colossal fuckup, it was just an unfortunate circumstance."

"I'm glad I could help somehow; that's fucking _rough_."

"Yeah. Thanks, man."

"Any time. Come on, let's grab a beer with the guys, yeah?"

* * *

Hazel opened the door, and was met by the sound of laughter from the living room. It wasn't common for Violette to have guests, but it wasn't unheard of. She could hear _Lance's_ voice, though, which is what confused her. They got along just fine, but they didn't usually spend time together. She took off her boots and walked into the room, only to stop when she saw Selicy curled up next to him, head leaned on his shoulder.

Violette looked over. "Oh, Hazel!" She hopped up, striding across the room to pull her into a kiss.

Hazel blinked, a faint blush on her cheeks as she looked up at her girlfriend. "Hi," She murmured.

"Sorry, I know that was a bit out of the blue, but Lance and Selicy—you know, I should allow them their own introductions," Violette stepped out of the way.

Hazel gave her a strange look. "..I _know_ Lance, he's been quartermaster since before I even joined."

Lance chuckled. "I don't need to be introduced, but an update on my past is probably in order. You know that Gunner got me out of a bad situation when we were young; I was put in that situation when soldiers snatched me from my village, along with a bunch of other kids. They _would_ have gotten Selicy," He looked over at her with a loving smile. "But I went back to get her out, and they got me instead."

Hazel put the pieces together. "So you two were childhood sweethearts, and that's why she was so attached to you from the start."

Selicy blushed. "You heard about that, huh..?"

"Gunner mentioned. Well, I'm glad you found each other, then." Hazel smiled. "Welcome to my home; I have no doubt Vi has said the same already."

"'Vi'? Lance has been saying 'Violette' this whole time."

"Only Hazel's allowed to call her that."

"Awww, that's _adorable_ , Violette."

Violette hid her face in her hands. "Is this how you feel all the time, Hazel?"

Hazel smirked, leaning against the archway. "Yeah, now _you_ know what it's like!"

* * *

The two stayed for dinner, sharing embarrassing stories about each other—Selicy was particularly ruthless, much to Hazel and Violette's amusement—and then they headed to the local gathering place, which had been colloquially named 'The Supply Depot'. It was a joke at first, but it caught on rather quickly, and soon enough it because the official name. They walked inside, and a group of Lance's friends waved from a nearby table. Gunner was indeed among them, and he grinned. "Showing the new girl where the cool kids hang out, huh?"

"Yeah, but I know he'll get there someday," Selicy called back, and the group looked at each other in astonishment, grins on their faces.

"Ohhhhh, _shit_ , Lance, you just got _roasted_ ; she's gonna fit right in around here."

Lance shook his head ruefully, smiling all the same. "Dammit, Sel."

She halted awkwardly with a strange expression. "Ergh, I don't know how I feel about that now; like, it works still? But it's also from back then?"

"Oh, sorry; should I stop?"

They continued walking again. "..nah, actually, keep it. It's kind of like, a direct representation of how some things didn't change, even though we did."

"Wait, you two _know_ each other?" One of the guys at the table looked between them.

"We grew up together, but we got separated when the soldiers grabbed me. We were childhood sweethearts, actually," Lance laughed.

Selicy slipped an arm through his. "And he's _still_ my sweetheart, so everyone else can back the _fuck_ up."

Everyone stared in shock, except for Lance, who let his head fall forward, laughing. "I should have seen that coming."

The biggest of the three looked at Lance. "Has she _always_ been like this?"

"Dude, I'm right here."

"Fine; have you _always_ been like this?"

"Pretty much, yeah, except I'm meaner now."

"You're not mean, Sel; ruthless, absolutely, but not _mean_."

"Alright, fine. You big softie."

"Lance, holy shit, you are totally whipped."

He raised an eyebrow. "Have _you_ ever reunited with someone you've known since before you can remember, that you've been separated from for eleven years, and to whom the last words you said were 'I love you'? If not, piss off with that shit, I'm gonna love her with everything I've got and you can't stop me."

This time everyone stared at Lance. Gunner spoke up first. "Dude, I've _never_ seen you like this," The other two guys nodded in agreement.

Selicy, on the other hand.. "Lance, I love you so goddamn much, that was so fucking cute."

"Aw, thanks hon."

"..You know, actually, I can see it now. Lance always _has_ been idealistic, which is why he and I get along so well, 'cause I'm a bitter, cynical asshole sometimes," The smaller of the two others snorted, and Gunner flicked a crumb at him without looking, nailing him square in the nose. "But he balances me out. It looks like the same goes for you."

"Yeah, he's big into doing the right thing and building a better future nowadays, huh?" She looked at him fondly. "We both ended up doing some crazy shit, but I can't say I want to go back to _my_ old gig."

"What _was_ your old gig? You never said," Lance cocked his head to the side.

One of The Depot's servers walked up. "Hey, Lance. What can I get for ya? Also who's the girl?"

"Hey, Arch; the usual," He turned to Selicy. "You want anything?"

"Uh, isn't she a bit young?"

"To answer your two questions about me; I'm Selicy, and I'm twenty. I just have a babyface. Tease me about this at your own risk."

Arch snorted. "Alright, I appreciate the sass."

Lance shook his head. "No, that one was serious, she will absolutely kick your ass; it's like, a _thing_ , even back when we were kids."

Arch's jaw dropped. "No way, that's _her_ —wait, she said Selicy though, I thought you said her name was—"

Lance cut him off. "She goes by that now."

Arch blinked, then shrugged after a moment. "Alright. God knows we can all relate, some of us were so young when we adopted our callsigns that we don't even _remember_ our real names anymore."

Gunner nodded. "And as far as I'm concerned, the name you call yourself _is_ your real name. I had a different name once, but now I'm Gunner, and that's that."

Selicy nodded in appreciation. "I like your friends, Lance. I'm glad you have people to watch out for you." She looked back at Arch. "What are the odds you have frost wine?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Zero; damn, you've got expensive taste."

"No, I'm just from the north; it's only expensive if it's hard to find." She shrugged. "I had to ask. Anyway, any red that isn't too dry is fine by me, that doable?"

"Sure thing. You on Lance's tab, or should I start one for you?"

Selicy gave Lance an amused look out of the corner of her eye. "They've really got your number around here, huh?" She looked back, jerking a thumb towards him. "I'll start my own, or this dumbass'll go broke 'cause he can't tell me no."

Arch threw his head back and cackled. "Oh, man, he said you were feisty, but I did not expect _this_ ," He grinned. "Can do. I'll be back with your drinks."

Lance's head fell into his hands. "..I want to defend myself, but I know better."

Selicy patted him on the back. "And you know? Knowing when you're outmatched is a good skill to have."

"Ooooh," One of the other guys at the table covered his mouth.

She shot him a smirk. "Hoot and holler if you want, but that one was serious. Both because I'm nothing to mess with, and because most people don't know how to avoid fights they can't win, or they can't swallow their pride enough to minimize their losses."

He blinked. "..Oh."

Lance smiled wryly at her, a hint of amusement lurking underneath. "Thanks, Sel. Now I only feel _sort_ of insulted."

"That's the spirit," She looked back at the others. "So, that's Gunner, but who are you two?"

"I'm Phantom," The shorter of the two jerked a thumb towards himself, then pointed to his burlier friend. "And that's Striker."

Selicy looked at Lance. "How come you're still Lance?"

"..Well, it was already a good callsign, but.. while I respect and understand wanting to remake yourself, I wasn't going to let them take my name from me. It was like.. no matter _what_ you bastards do, you can't take away who I am; no matter what you try, Lance will still remain," He was quiet a moment. "That, and.. if somehow, we ever ended up near you, or word reached where you were, I wanted to make sure I didn't vanish completely. That maybe one day you'd find me, somehow."

The others stared at him. "Is _that_ why," Striker shook his head. "I always knew there was something you weren't telling us, because spiteful perseverance just isn't your thing, that's Gunner," He looked at both of them. "No offense."

"None taken." Gunner shrugged. "It's kept me alive, and by extension you guys; I have no problems accepting it."

Lance nodded. "Yeah, it's not my thing, you're right. I was just.. at first I was embarrassed, I was worried you'd all think I was too soft to keep around, and by the time I knew you'd never ditch me like that, it didn't feel like it was worth mentioning."

Arch returned with their drinks. "Here you guys go. We still on for tomorrow, Lance?" Lance hesitated for a brief moment. "You can bring Selicy, it's cool."

Lance relaxed. "Then yeah, sure."

She snickered. "Heh. Cool," Everyone but Lance gave her a strange look, and she snorted. "Right, you guys don't know," She held up a hand, and the air above it shimmered as the moisture froze. A small ice crystal formed in her palm. "I'm a natural mage. It's how I survived on my own."

They stared in astonishment. "Holy shit."

Lance smiled to himself. "You never did say what your 'gig' was."

"I was the Queen of the North."

Everyone looked blankly at her, except Gunner, who nearly choked on his drink. He coughed a moment, before looking up at her. "You're the _Queen of the North_?! Shit, now I get why everyone's always so surprised when they find out I'm in charge around here, I did _not_ see that coming."

Striker furrowed his brow. "What am I missing?" The others nodded in agreement.

Gunner gestured to Selicy. "Your story to share."

"It's what it says on the box. I declared myself Queen of region to the north; _really_ far north, where it's cold enough to kill in minutes at most, and only light out a quarter of the year. Out of the way enough to not be a huge target, but far enough south that I could have some power and influence."

"How'd you manage _that_?" Phantom was bewildered.

"..same way I did." The group looked at Gunner, then back at Selicy.

She looked at Gunner. "I don't know your story, but if you know mine I'm assuming you've killed a lot of people."

"..Yeah."

Phantom shook his head. "How'd you get _Queen_ out of that, though?"

"Easy. I built a castle out of ice. It never melts up there, and I'm basically immune to cold, so it didn't matter that the walls and floors were literally frozen. I had some subjects that lived there, since ice retains heat better than you'd think, but they were the die-hard loyal or desperate ones. Everyone else just did their thing, and if they were in my territory, they answered to me."

"How'd you even _enforce_ something like that by yourself?"

"Reputation. If they didn't comply, I maimed them and left them to die in the cold."

There was a long silence. "Jesus," Phantom whispered. "I know we were pretty rough back in the day, but.."

"You guys killed if you had to; I killed to make a point," She looked down. "..So yeah. That's why I say I'm meaner now, Lance. I'm.. not a good person."

Gunner set his mug on the table with a loud _thunk!_ "So what? So what if you did awful shit? So did I, and a lot of the rest of my company did because _I_ told them to. It's done, and we can't take it back. The question is," He leaned in with a challenging look in his eyes. "What are you gonna do to make it up to the world? We named this place Refuge for a reason."

The group looked between the two nervously, with the exception of Lance, who stared Gunner down alongside Selicy. "..You know what? You're right, even if you are kind of a dick about it."

Gunner leaned back, laughing. "Hear, hear!"

The group relaxed, and Striker gave her an odd look. "So you just.. wear a hood indoors? What's the deal with that?"

Selicy halted awkwardly. "Uh.. I dunno, I just like it."

The group looked at her somewhat skeptically, but Lance stepped in. "Oh man, I remember when you got that hooded cloak when you were like, seven; you were determined it made you look cool—and if you hadn't been seven you'd probably have been right, but it's hard for anyone to look cool for _any_ reason when they're seven."

She looked at Lance in disbelief, then a hint of gratitude flashed across her expression. "..call me out why dontcha."

Striker laughed. "I mean, if that's what it is, I respect that. You do have a solid look going on, what with the scarf and the red accents and the blue hair."

"Thanks. I think I look pretty damn good."

" _Yeah_ you do," Lance grinned. "What the hell, how come you got to grow up to be cool and I ended up as a desk clerk with a gun?"

"Probably because I made my way through branding; you had a deceptively scrappy warlord to hide behind."

Gunner snorted. "'Deceptively scrappy'; that's not a bad description, actually."

* * *

"Hey, Lance."

He stopped, turning back. "What's up, Phantom?"

"I—" Phantom stopped awkwardly, looking at Selicy for a moment. "..Whatever, you and she are a package deal anyway."

She nodded. "Damn straight."

"I have to go out of town for a while," He looked around, leaning in close. "But you _cannot_ tell Gunner, he would be _pissed_."

Lance started. "What the fuck?" He leaned in, voice lowered to a hiss. "If you were anyone else I'd kick your ass for thinking I'd go behind Gunner's back like that, but this still better be good."

"I have to track down Fiona, because they had a huge misunderstanding and I need to be able to tell her he doesn't know I'm there, because this is a five minute fucking conversation but she's just as hot-headed as he is and she left before he could explain."

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, _what_ happened?"

"Short version: She thinks he laughed at her when she asked if she could stay with him, but he actually laughed 'cause she said something to the effect of 'I know you're not interested in romance so I get it if you don't want to,' which is just.. so unbe _liev_ ably ironic."

"Why is that ironic?" Selicy looked between them.

Phantom looked at her. "He's been uninterested in romance because he's been head-over-heels for _Fiona_ since he saw a trio of highwayman ambush her, and then she beat them up like they were a group of toddlers; this was also the first time he had ever seen her. His exact words were 'holy shit I'm in love.'"

"Damn, girl after my own heart."

Lance laughed. "Yeah, I think you two will get along."

"Anyway, I'm gonna track her down and be like 'look, I get that you're mad, but seriously, this is all a big misunderstanding, now go back there and kiss the hell out of him, he very much wants that.'"

"How do you know she'll listen?" The two men looked at Selicy. "If I was that mad I wouldn't wanna hear it, it'll seem like he sent you."

"That's why this has to be a secret, I'm gonna tell her I came because he's kicking himself over it, like, worse than I've seen him in _years_ , and frankly, this is bullshit, I'm not gonna let her being pissed come before doing right by my best friend; _especially_ since fixing that will also get them both what they want, which is each other."

Selicy nodded. "Alright. Good battle strategy. Long as you're prepared to shout her down over it."

Lance looked at her in horror. "What?!"

She looked up at him. "Would I listen to anything less?"

"I—no, probably not."

She shrugged. "Well there you go. I'm assuming she's not quite as crazy as I am, so it's only a maybe, but you gotta be ready."

Phantom nodded. "Yeah. Thanks; it's good to have confirmation on my plan."

Lance nodded. "Alright. I have one condition."

"Shoot."

"Find out what happened to that bitch who hurt my Selicy."

Phantom laughed. "And you're gonna tell Gunner that's why I'm gone. Genius. Can do, buddy."

* * *

"Hey, Lance, can you give Phantom a message for me."

"When he gets back, sure."

"Wha—where'd he go?"

"I asked him to track down that warlord who hurt Selicy, because anyone who can beat the Queen of the North is someone we need to keep track of, even if it is likely to just be a corpse."

"And if it's not?"

"Well, then I'll put together a plan to erase her from existence, because to hear Selicy tell it, she didn't start that one. That means she's dangerous _and_ crazy, _and_ she's gonna want revenge for you shooting her. I _also_ want revenge—which _is_ why I'm actually doing it, I'm willing to admit that—but I'm also right about her being a legitimate problem."

"Sounds good to me. Keep me posted, and let me know what equipment you need. Or Hazel, or Cross."

"You got it."

* * *

Phantom crept forward silently, peering out at the camp. He didn't see any sign of Fiona, but her stuff was there. He quickly checked his surroundings, but didn't see her. Odd, but then again, it's not like she needed to be in sight of her stuff at all times. He decided it was probably best to just sit by the fire and wait for her to come back; he couldn't be a bandit stealing her shit if he was just sitting there in plain sight waiting, and he wouldn't spook her coming out of the dark.

He walked to the camp, and sat down. He waited a while, and sure enough, she eventually walked into view. She froze when she saw him, and he could see her head tilt even from this distance. She jogged over, calling out when she was closer. "Phantom? Why are _you_ here? Is everything alright?"

"For the most part. I'm out on a recon mission for Lance; we mounted a rescue mission the day you left, some lady in a white and gold robe nearly killed a girl, couple years younger than Lance. Turns out, she's his long-lost childhood sweetheart. Fucking crazy, right?"

"Holy shit."

"Anyway, Gunner shot her attacker in the back of the knee 'cause she was acting like she was about to try something despite him having a gun to her head, all 'you wouldn't kill me, you're a child,' so that didn't go well for her, but he didn't kill her, and Lance wants to be sure she's dead."

"He shot her in the back of the knee and left her to _die_?" Fiona was horrified. "What the _fuck_ , Gunner..? I thought he was done with that kind of stuff."

Phantom snorted. "You and everyone else. I followed him to the range, dude was running full tilt, target machine couldn't keep up; he just angrily turned it off." He slapped his hand down on his knee in a recreation of the moment. "So naturally I asked him what the _hell_ was going on."

Fiona crossed her arms. "If he sent you—"

"No, _I_ sent me! The recon mission—while necessary, 'cause if she's alive that's gonna be a fucking _problem_ —but the recon mission is my cover so Gunner doesn't know I'm out here to find _you_! I haven't seen him like this since we lost _Duster_! You know he likes to deflect, and you know what he said to me when I asked? He said 'I'm the world's biggest idiot, next question.'"

"He _laughed_ at me!"

"Bull _shit_ he did, he laughed at what you _said_ , because the idea he could ever not be interested in you is ridiculous! Fiona, Gunner is fucking _crazy_ about you, has been ever since he saw you whoop those highwayman into next week; he's 'not the romantic type' because he's always been too busy being in love with _you_!"

Fiona stared back at him, eyes wide. "But.. that was four _years_ ago."

" _Yeah_! It was! That's why he laughed, but you left before he could say anything!"

She covered her mouth with her hands. "..oh god, Gunner.." She shook her head quickly. "..no, no no no, this can't end this way, I won't let it!"

Phantom nodded. "Good. You know what you have to do?"

"I'm gonna haul ass back to town and tell that boy I love him."

Another nod. "Good." He paused a moment. "Also that _you_ ran into _me_ , not the other way around, 'cause good intentions or not I don't wanna get my ass kicked."

* * *

"Hey, Reva; I wanted to say thanks for getting Selicy here in one piece."

Reva smiled. "Of course; it's what I do."

Selicy shuddered. "God, if you guys had been even a few seconds later.. you would have been bringing back a corpse, and Lance.. he would have never known it was me."

"..I feel like he would have realized once he saw the ears."

Lance looked at Selicy in surprise. "Wait, she knows about that?"

"She was making sure I didn't die, I wasn't gonna argue with 'I need to make sure you aren't concussed'."

"They are quite cute, I don't know why you feel the need to hide them."

"Because then everyone's trying to pet them all the time!" Selicy laid her hands over the top of her hood. "I don't like the attention, not like that; thanks for covering for me, by the way."

Lance smiled. "Anytime."

"Covering for you?"

"I made up a story about her having a hood as a kid, acting like I was teasing her about it to make it seem like hoods are just her _thing_."

* * *

Fiona had made record time; it was amazing how much faster she traveled when she didn't stop along the way to sell things. It was also very surreal, she'd never experienced seeing a good opportunity and just flat-out _not caring_. She arrived at the gates, and the guard looked at her in confusion. "Didn't you leave like, a week ago?"

"I crossed paths with Phantom—he's out on recon, apparently?" The guard nodded. "Yeah, anyway, we talked, and I came back, because there's something I needed to do, but didn't."

He shrugged. "Alright. Come on in."

She nodded in thanks, hurrying into town and to the command center. She knocked on the door, shifting nervously. It opened, revealing Lance. "Oh, Fiona."

"I ran into Phantom."

"Come on in; Gunner's not here right now, but he'll be back soon."

"I—but I didn't—"

"I'm in on it."

"Oh." She walked inside.

"You shoulda listened, but at the same time, you wouldn't be you if you didn't have a temper, and Gunner likes you the way you are."

Fiona blinked. "Thanks? Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"..Fiona?" She whirled at the sound of Gunner's voice. "What—why are you—it's been a _week_ , did something happen?" Worry flashed across his features. "Are you okay?"

She crossed the distance in a few short strides, taking his face in her hands. "I ran into Phantom; I never thought I'd be _thankful_ for that chatterbox, but here we are," She laid her forehead against his. "I'm sorry; I should have listened, I should have _waited_ ," His eyes were wide, and he was frozen in shock. "I love you, Gunner. Be mine?"

"..this has to be a dream, there's no way," He murmured.

She laughed, tears pooling in her eyes. "It's not a dream, I found out what happened and came straight here to make things right."

"I.. real life doesn't have happy endings like this—I _want_ to believe, but if I wake up and you're not there.."

Her heart broke at the pain and fear in his voice. "Well, I'll just have to prove it. Come on," She took his hand, leading him towards the stairs to his room. "You can't fall asleep in a dream, right? I'm fucking _exhausted_ , come take a nap with me."

He nodded vacantly, following her upstairs.

She kicked off her shoes at the top of the stairs, and waited for him to get his boots off. They walked into his room, and she blinked. "Huh, I don't know why I expected you to have a larger bed, but here we are."

"Sorry.."

"Get that shit outta here, Gunner; the right answer is 'I guess we'll just have to snuggle,'" She shook her head fondly. "Dumbass."

He finally cracked a smile. "Yeah, alright. I can't say no to that."

"I'm starting to think you can't say no to _me_ , either."

"Only starting? I'm disappointed, I thought you were sharper than that."

" _There's_ my Gunner," She smiled impishly, pulling him down with her onto the bed. "It took a week longer than it should have, but we finally made it here."

* * *

Gunner awoke to an unfamiliar presence, and began to lurch into action before realizing who it was. " _Fiona_."

She hummed sleepily. "Mm.. hey Gunner," She pulled him closer, smiling softly to herself. "..believe me now?"

"..you're really here," He rolled over to face her, and his breath hitched when she opened her eyes to smile at him. "..this is _real_."

"Yeah," She giggled. "It is. I'm sorry I ran off on you; you didn't deserve that. But now I'm here, with you."

"..Fiona," He slowly smiled. "I get to be with Fiona."

"And I get to be with Gunner. We've both been wishing for more, and now.." She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "Now we have it." His face was bright red, and she giggled again. "You okay?"

"..yeah, I've just dreamed of moments like this, so it's.. a lot," He shook his head. "Not in a bad way, just.. a lot."

He was quiet a moment, and a troubled expression crossed his face. She reached out to stroke his cheek gently. "What's on your mind, love?"

He shivered. "Well, you calling me _that_ , now, but.. I realized you're going to have to go, and.. I don't want you to."

"I won't have to be gone nearly as much; I do well for myself, because traveling is a good way to leverage demand, but if I'm staying here, with _you_? The profit margin doesn't really matter to me anymore. I've been considering permanently setting up shop here in town once the population got high enough anyway; it'll just be a little sooner now."

His eyes were wide. "You're.. you're staying.. for _me_?"

"Yes, for you! More than half of my business model was centered around keeping the town supplied anyway; I'll just hire couriers and manage things from here."

"..Could I convince you to run for Treasurer."

"Um, _YES_? Holy shit, I assumed I was ineligible because I'm dating you, now."

"Refuge doesn't have any rules like that, 'cause everything is pretty much based on if you can do the job, or sometimes like, skills development, like with Cross."

"Yeah, then absolutely, I'd love to manage the supply chain, sign me up. Lance is gonna have his hands full with the needs of the population here soon anyway, it makes sense to split his duties into inward-facing and outward-facing."

Gunner grinned, and he probably looked like a dopey idiot, but he didn't care. "Cool."

She snorted. "Real eloquent, there, bud."

"They call me Gunner, not Speaker."

"Wait, I thought Gunner was just your name."

"It _is_ my name, but it wasn't _always_ my name. Just like Phantom or a lot of the other guys; our callsigns _became_ our names, because the company _was_ our family, we didn't _need_ any other names."

"That's.. actually kinda cute," She smiled. "Sorry, Gunner is also a quote-unquote 'normal' name, so I thought you were like Lance and you'd just used your name as your callsign."

"You knew Lance wasn't a callsign too? Oh, I guess you'd just assumed, fifty-fifty success rate, huh."

"Yeah. But anyway, you're Gunner now. I had noticed your callsigns were all pretty on-the-nose; it all started with you, huh? How'd that happen?"

"That's.. a really dark story, you sure you wanna hear that? We're kinda having a sweet romantic moment here, even _I_ can see that much."

"Let's see if I can summarize real fast; you busted everyone out of whatever weird-ass child labor camp the soldiers were keeping you in, and you shot a _lot_ of people."

"I mean, yeah, that's the really basic version, I guess; it was a research camp, though."

She stared in horror. "..please don't tell me that means what I think it means."

He blinked, not saying anything.

She teared up slightly. "Oh, Gunner; alright, different kind of moment, if you.. you don't have to, but whenever you're ready, I want to know your story. The whole story. I believe you when you say it's dark, but if I'm going to support you I need to know what you've been through. I don't want any fights because I did or said something that reminded you of your trauma, because I'm clearly not great at being calm and talking things out sometimes."

He laughed quietly. "But you wouldn't be you if you weren't like that; besides, I'm not the greatest at staying calm myself."

"Lance said something similar. Before I forget though, speaking of that.." She kissed him again. "We're going to fight sometimes. Our personalities are just _like_ that. I want you to know that even when that happens, I still love you, and even if I'm mad, I won't be mad forever. I don't ever want a situation where you feel like you can't talk to me." She blushed. "Obviously there might be situations where I'm not willing to _listen_ , but that's not what I mean."

"..Yeah. That's.. probably a good thing to cover. The same goes for me; I know I can be volatile, and I know I lash out sometimes."

"You do?"

He turned bright red. "I've tried really hard not to do it in front of you, because I wanted you to like me."

"Oh my god, you really _are_ different around me; every so often one of the guys would say something like 'you know how he is,' and I always thought 'no, I have no idea what you mean,' but whenever I asked they'd just get super evasive."

"Loyal to the end, I see. I love my family."

Fiona's eyes were wide, and she was beaming. "Oh my god, Gunner, that was so _cute_..!"

"Please don't tell anyone I said that, I'd never hear the end of it."

She pouted. "Fiine."

Gunner laughed. "Man, I love you, Fiona."

"I love you too, Gunner."

* * *

"Yeah, uh.. guys?" The assembled militia turned to see Phantom walk in the door. He crossed to the front of the room, addressing the group. "We have a problem; at first I couldn't find that warlord _anywhere_. No remains, no rumors, she was just.. gone. Which meant either she's alive, or has allies even scarier than she is." He scowled. "It took more than two weeks, but I did eventually track her down. She's been hiding out in a cave; must have dragged herself to safety, then come back to cover her tracks."

There were scattered murmurs, but Lance spoke up. "Alright. But now we _know_ ," He crossed his arms with a grin. "So what are we gonna do about it? She's tough, sure, anyone who can go toe to toe with my Selicy and win is someone who doesn't fuck around, but that was one-on-one. We don't have to play by her rules. As long as we don't do anything too reckless she won't be a problem for us."

Gunner nodded. "I can't argue with that. And I know she can't sense me coming or whatever, because of my no-magic thing, which suggests she's pretty reliant on it."

"So, what, are we just gonna go assassinate a warlord?"

"Pretty much."

"We can't all leave at once! The city would be defenseless!"

"..Shit, you're right. I just got so caught up in the moment thinking about how we used to do things.."

"Well, we have other people who can help, now, too. Why not bring Reva?"

"I don't think she'd go for just killing her in cold blood."

Reva's voice cut through the chatter. "I absolutely would, I saw first-hand what she did to Selicy. She's a _monster_."

The group started at Reva's sudden arrival. "Shit, how long have you been standing there?!" Arch laid a hand to his chest. "About gave me a heart attack."

"Long enough. You have my support."

* * *

"Wait! Please, you have to listen!" The woman knelt down, laying her staff aside and clasping her hands above her head, forehead to the ground. " _Please_."

Reva looked at the others. Gunner shrugged, gesturing vaguely back at her. She turned back. "This better be good."

"This is going to sound crazy, but there's a separate evil version of me that also inhabits my body, and I can't control it. Please, I've been trying to find a way to stop her for years now; you can kill me, if that's the only way, I just—I'm not a bad person, I _hate_ seeing what she does to people," Her voice was pained. "..I don't want to die a villain.."

"You're right, that definitely sounds crazy." Gunner looked at Arch. "Magic is _your_ thing, you got any insight?"

Arch stepped forward. "Name?"

"Terra."

"Age?"

"I don't know. Early-mid twenties..? I lost track a few years ago."

"Why the robes?"

"I.. started a cult, after the world ended, trying to get into Eden."

There was a stunned silence. "..A cult."

"Yes. It dissolved when we failed. Well.. dissolved is being diplomatic.. I'm the only one who lived. That's when that part of me was created.. it saved me, but.. at what cost."

"So you're a borderline-amnesiac retired cult leader with split personality disorder."

"I.. suppose, yes."

Arch shrugged. "She's fucking nuts, but in exactly the way she says. Checks out to me. That's my verdict."

"So what do we do, boss?"

Gunner thought a moment. "Reva? You're the expert on this subject."

Reva regarded Terra critically. "..I believe we can restrict your magic." She looked to Arch for confirmation, who nodded. She looked back. "If you allow this, I would be willing to oversee your parole. Despite your crimes.. if you genuinely wish to put that behind you, I am willing to give you a chance. We named our city Refuge for a reason. But make no mistake.. If you betray that chance, I will _strike you down_."

Terra looked up with tears in her eyes. "Thank you! I promise I'll do anything I can to help."


	5. Terra

"Not only is she alive still, but you guys _brought her back with you_?" Lance was clenching his teeth, clearly holding back far more than what he had said already.

Gunner shrugged. "Reva says she can be rehabilitated, and it's looking like the split personality thing is legit. I'm not in the business of questioning my experts, and you know Reva isn't the bleeding heart type; she's willing to give people an honest chance, but she _can_ and _will_ cut them down otherwise."

Selicy spoke up, gently touching Lance's arm to calm him. "..It's alright, Lance. I trust Reva, she saw what Terra did to me; if she can think that knowing what I went through.. I believe her. She's nobody's fool."

"..Okay. My beef with her is on your behalf, so if you're burying the hatchet, I will too."

* * *

Terra backed away nervously. "Uh.. I don't.. I don't want any trouble," She had been cornered in a dead-end alley by a trio of angry-looking, burly ruffians.

The woman in the front cracked her knuckles. "Yeah? Too bad, 'cause we're not askin'."

The man on the left sneered. "We know who you are, and we don't believe that shit about split personalities for a second. You're gonna pay for what you did."

Terra shook her head, unable to keep the fear from her voice. "Please don't hurt me, I never.. I didn't want to hurt anyone, I _swear_."

The man on the right took a few steps closer. His elbow whipped back, and he drove a _vicious_ short uppercut into her stomach. "Bit late for that," He snarled.

Terra's breath left her in a rush, and she let out a hacking cough. "Wa-wait."

"Shut up." The lead woman stared back with a cold fury in her eyes. "This is for what you did to our village. You burned our homes to the ground. You killed, and looted, and now you have the gall to come _here_ looking for asylum?! No. _You're not welcome here_."

* * *

" _Terra_!" Reva's eyes widened at the slumped form against the wall at the back of the alley. She rushed over, sliding to a stop on her knees. "Terra, what _happened_?! Come on, talk to me."

She was a mess; her robe was stained from the mud, but it wasn't all brown. There were dark red blotches as well, and Reva hoped that it wasn't as bad as it looked.

Terra finally looked up weakly, clearly only semi-lucid. "..some.." She coughed, spitting blood. "..some citizens took issue with my past behavior."

"Did you just _let_ them hurt you?" Reva didn't understand, she was clearly capable of handing street thugs, so why..?

"..promised I wouldn't hurt anyone else," Terra reached up to touch Reva's hand. "..promised you I wouldn't use magic in the city.."

"I didn't mean that you couldn't _defend_ yourself..!" Reva felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.

..This was her fault. She'd been so strict to the point that Terra had let herself..

"..'s okay, I deserved it.." Terra began to list sideways, eyes sliding closed, and Reva caught her.

"No! Hang in there, it's going to be okay," Reva called on the magic in her shield, and the color slowly returned to Terra's cheeks. "Please be okay, I never wanted this.."

* * *

Terra awoke with a groan. "..where.. am I..?" She looked around blearily, noting she wasn't in her robe; it was neatly folded on a nearby table. She was in.. the infirmary?

..But why?

_They hurt you._

Terra squeezed her eyes shut. _Shut up. **You're** the reason they did! Just leave me **alone**!_

_How could I do that, when I **am** you?_

_No! No, you're **not**! You keep saying that, but I refuse to believe it any longer! You're **not me**!_

_..Very well. Have it your way; until we meet again.. **Terra**._

The presence left, and Terra realized it hadn't simply retreated.. it was _gone_. She felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

..She was finally free.

The door opened, and one of the militia walked in. "I see you're awake."

"..yes." She rubbed at her eyes, trying to keep herself from being sucked into the riptide of emotions left in the wake of her darkness' apparent passing. "How.. how did I get here?"

"Reva brought you in. She's worried sick, you know."

"..what? Why? Why would she be worried about _me_..?"

"She's like that. She's a better person than I'll ever be; but that aside.. you live here, now. And around here.. we take care of our own. So don't make Reva regret it."

She shook her head quickly, then winced. "I won't—oww.." She clutched her head, and when she looked back, he was gone, replaced by.. "Reva."

"What were you thinking?! You could have been _killed_ ; if I hadn't found you when I did.." Reva sat next to the bed with a heavy sigh. "I'm.. I'm sorry."

"You—you're sorry? You saved me, why..?"

"I should have never made you feel like you couldn't defend yourself, I was too hard on you."

"No, you didn't.. I didn't do anything to stop them because I was afraid of hurting them, I was afraid I'd.." Reva nodded. "That other, that evil in my head.. she burned their village. Killed more than half of them. I couldn't.. _I_ knew it wasn't my fault, but how could they believe otherwise? They just saw _me_ ," She looked up at the ceiling. "But Reva, she's—she's gone, I can't feel her lurking in my mind anymore; I'm _finally_ just.." Terra smiled softly. "..me."

Reva smiled. "I'm glad you're recovering." She gestured to Terra's robe. "I did my best to restore your clothing as well."

"Thank you, Reva. I don't know how I ended up with a.. a friend like you, but I am _eternally_ grateful that I did."

"You really think of me as a friend..?"

"..You had every right to ignore my pleas to listen, but you didn't. You had every right to strike me down for what I did to that poor girl.. but you didn't. You gave me a chance."

"Everyone deserves a chance at redemption, should they truly desire it."

"I _swear_ I won't make you regret it. I won't disappoint you, Reva."

Reva was stunned. "I.. what brought that on?"

"A man from the militia was here before you; he said I lived here now, and that here you take care of your own.. and not to make you regret it." Terra was quiet a moment. "..Who _was_ that? I don't know everyone yet."

"That was Lance."

Terra's eyes widened slightly. "He could think of me as 'one of your own', even knowing I nearly killed the girl he _loves_..?"

"I won't lie to you; Lance was furious that I let you live. It was actually Selicy who calmed him down. She said that if I saw something worth saving, that she would believe me."

" _Thank you_ ," Terra reached towards Reva, taking her hand. "I owe you so much.. if there's anything I can do, _anything_ , don't hesitate to ask, _please_."

"I don't.. it's okay, you—"

" _Please_ ," Terra swallowed. "If not for you, than for Selicy, for Lance, for everyone I hurt.. I need to make things right with the world, somehow."

Reva stared a moment, then nodded. "..okay. I'll let you know."

* * *

"Violette, I need help."

"Reva?! What's wrong, are—" Violette took in Reva's posture and expression. "Ah. Terra."

"Just like that..!? Am I that obvious..?"

"No, I simply have a knack for that sort of thing. Besides, why else would you be asking me, and not Hazel?"

"What are we not asking me?"

Reva squeaked as Hazel walked in. "Um!"

"I would have ended up telling her anyway, expecting me not to would be like expecting Phantom not to keep Striker informed."

Reva sighed. "..Terra got really hurt, and.. it feels like it was my fault. I have to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else, but.. as I talked to her afterwards.." She was quiet a moment. "..She seems so earnestly grateful for the chance she's been given here, and I just.. can't find it in me to mistrust her. Not after she nearly let herself get killed by a group of thugs, rather than risk the dark part of her emerging; which she says has gone? I feel like I should suspect that too, but.."

Understanding dawned on Hazel. "..you're falling for her; or at least, for what she seems to be, and that means you _want_ to believe it's real."

Reva flinched. "I—I don't—" She hung her head. "..yeah. But I can't, I have a responsibility to the people of this city! I can't let my feelings influence my judgment like that.. right..?"

Violette laid a hand on Reva's shoulder gently. "She's part of the city too, now, isn't she?" Reva slowly nodded, slightly confused. "She needs someone like you to care about her. And I think _you_ need someone like her to care _about_. From where _I'm_ standing.. she really does seem to want to be better. I can see why you would be attracted to that. You may take comfort in knowing that I am far more well-versed in emotion and the manipulations thereof, and that I see what you see even still. If she is deceiving us.. she is _very_ good at it, and you could not possibly be held responsible for failing to catch it. That would be like asking you to defeat Gunner in a shooting competition."

Hazel laughed. "She has a point. We have a policy of trusting our experts around here; you're a good judge of character, but that only works if you can see past any walls they've put up. Vi is good at seeing past the walls. So don't worry about that."

"But still.. she's been here for what, a week? A week and a half?"

"Did Hazel ever tell you the story of how we started living together?"

"Oh, god, Vi, why do you have to embarrass me like this."

"If it reflects poorly on you it does so just as much on me, you know."

"No, she didn't; but if she doesn't want to that's okay," Reva furrowed her brow. "What does that have to do with Terra, though..?"

"I couldn't get my tent set up the first night I was here; Hazel, being a kind and generous soul," Hazel rolled her eyes with a smile, cheeks turning red. "Offered to let me stay in her tent for the night. The weather then made an honest attempt to flood the flatlands for the entire time the sun was up the next day."

"Oh wow, you two had a sort of early trial run, then, didn't you?"

"Uh.. well, I had never been interested in someone romantically before; we hit it off great the first night, and after spending the entire next day together talking about our interests, and where we'd come from in our lives.."

"We decided it would be a waste of time to have me move into a tent of my own. I had very few belongings, so it would have been a substantial undertaking; and when I found out Hazel had the world's largest crush on me."

"Viii," Hazel groaned, covering her face.

"I was more than happy to assure her that her interest was requited. I was taken with her from the very moment I laid eyes on her, and I recall having similar thoughts to yours with regards to the feasibility or appropriateness of said feelings."

"I dropped a ball bearing on my foot, and then a second one hit me in the head, you liked me _then_?"

Violette smirked at her. "Dear, 'collected' is not something I would describe you as, nor is it something I wish you were. The first words I heard from your mouth—discounting cursing at the initial transgressions of the bearings—were 'you bastards were perfectly cooperative all day, and as soon as there's a first impression to ruin you stage a mutiny', and you could not have possibly summarized your personality any better than that did."

Reva was trying not to laugh. "That very much sounds like Hazel."

"Guuyyysss," Hazel let her head fall back.

Reva looked at Violette. "Thank you for the assurance. I don't know how I'm going to proceed, but.. now it's a matter of deciding which course of action to choose, rather than which courses of action are acceptable."

"Best of luck to you."

* * *

Terra drifted unconsciously towards Reva, half hiding behind her. Reva raised a brow. "..Are you alright?"

Terra started. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to crowd you—"

"That doesn't answer my question," A fond smile played about Reva's lips. "You seem very skittish."

"I.. the refugees from a given place tend to all settle in the same part of town, and.."

The smile faded. "..This is the part where the people that hurt you probably live."

Terra shrank in on herself slightly. "..yeah. I just get nervous, it's not—"

Reva did an about-face. "Then we'll go around."

Terra stared, mouth hanging open slightly. "Wha—but we'll be late!"

"They will be fine." Reva looked back with a twinkle in her eye. "And you can't be held responsible if your parole officer took you the long way, now can you?"

Terra hurried to catch up, smiling gratefully. "..Thank you, Reva."

* * *

"Look, we don't wanna hurt you, Reva, just step out of the way."

Reva glared at the gang of citizens with a fury they had never seen; one or two slowly edged away from the group, slipping into alleyways. "You claim to care about my safety, but you clearly know nothing of me. If you did then you would know I will sooner _die_ than stand down and allow an innocent to come to harm."

" _Innocent_?! She's a warlord! She killed—"

" _So did Gunner._ " Reva narrowed her eyes. "Or do you hold such misgivings towards him, as well? This is _Refuge_ ; a place where people can start over! Gunner did, and now Terra has! She hasn't caused trouble in the slightest since she's been here!"

"How do _you_ know that?"

"Because I was the one who brought her here! _I_ am the one in charge of making sure no one is hurt! I am the one who has been watching to _make sure_ she doesn't hurt anyone, but also that no one hurts _her_ ," She hefted Eschaton. "The choice is yours. Stand down. Or be _beaten_ down."

There was a murmur from the sparse remaining crowd that was crazy enough to watch this kind of fight. The gang of citizens shifted, and a few more departed surreptitiously. "I wonder what Lance would think of you defending her like this."

"So ask him; I'm not afraid of the answer. You can't possibly hope to undermine my conviction. I know what I was born into this world to do."

" _What is going on here._ " Everyone looked up to the roof, only to see Selicy glaring down at the gang.

"Reva's standing between us and Terra!"

"Oh yeah?" Selicy looked at Reva calmly. "That true?"

Reva looked back evenly. "Yes. I won't let them hurt her just as I wouldn't let her hurt them."

Selicy nodded, then jumped off the roof, doing a neat flip before landing dead center between the two groups. "What happens if you do hurt her? Tell me; what comes next?"

"We'll have taught her a lesson!"

Selicy scoffed, crossing her arms. "Right. If she's as evil as you seem to believe she is, you seriously think that's gonna work? You'll just be making an enemy."

"Well—I—Then we'll—"

"You'll what? You gonna kill her? Is that it? And what becomes of that? You trade one murderer for another."

"She's a _monster_! She's more than a murderer, murderers don't burn villages! You _know_ , I know what she did to you!"

"Yeah? You gonna kill me, too?"

"What?! Why would I—"

"If your justification is that she's got an awful past, then I got bad news about half this town. But since it's _me_ that's here, I'll share a little story with you. You ever hear of the Queen of the North?" The group shook their heads. "She was a warlord in the far, far north; she ruled her territory through fear and cruelty. She had a castle made of solid ice, and a heart to match. _She_ was a monster."

"What does that have to do with this?! And besides, there's no way that's true, a castle made of _ice_? How would _you_ know?"

"If people refused to pay tribute, or comply with her demands, she would cut one of their hamstrings and leave them to freeze to death, or bleed to death, whichever came first. If it was a family, she'd freeze their boots to the ground so they had to watch as whoever it was she'd chosen died, _slowly_."

Some of them looked sick. "Jesus, we get it, enough."

The lead gang member scowled. "You still haven't gotten to the point."

"You asked why you should kill me too; _that's_ why. You asked how I know? _I_ was the Queen of the North. Am I a bad person? Maybe. I know why I did what I did; I know my life. You don't. And _none_ of us know hers. I've put that part of my story behind me, and you let me live my life in peace; you have no excuse not to do the same for her. And if you think I'm on the hitlist too, now?" She bared her teeth in a snarl, and a two-foot-long blade of ice coalesced in each hand. " _You can go ahead and try._ "

The remainder of the group fled, the leader tripping over his own feet in his haste. Selicy condensed the blades into a fist-sized chunk of ice, and stuck it in her pocket. She turned casually back to Reva. "Hey. Sorry about that; I know you could have handled it, but intimidation is my specialty. Plus those assholes had it coming, and I could afford to antagonize them without worrying about one sneaking by me."

Reva stared at Selicy in shock. "I.. that was quite the tale; how did you come up with that so fast?"

"..Because it's true. I really was a monster. Ask Gunner; he'd heard of me back when I was still in the warlord business." Selicy walked past Reva to Terra. "So; I hear you got your ass kicked." Terra nodded cautiously. "Cut that shit out, if someone throws a punch at you, you hit back. Got it?"

"Uh.." Terra looked like a deer in the headlights.

Reva sighed. "Selicy, that's not.. No offense, but you're far too much of a loose cannon."

"So I've been told. In my defense, I said hit back; I'm not saying to use magic. Tit for tat."

Reva tilted her head back and forth. "I.. suppose that would be acceptable, if only because one can only do so much with their bare fists."

"I.. don't know how to fight hand-to-hand," Terra ducked her head, embarrassed at the admission. "I've been casting since I could walk."

"Then I'll teach you."

"I'm sorry?" Terra and Reva spoke at the same time.

"I'll teach you how to fight. Sure, you hurt me real bad; but at the end of the day, you were gonna finish me off. I couldn't tell you how many people I left to suffer; I can't look you in the eyes and say I'm any better than you. If I have a second chance at life here, I'm gonna make sure you have the tools to take your fair shot at it too."

"I.. you'd really do that?"

"I mean, don't go acting like I don't get anything out of this, I already _know_ how to fight; but I know how to fight to _survive_. I'll be straight with you, I'm not here to trick you or anything; I don't wanna kill you, or hurt you any significant amount, but this _is_ gonna consist of me kicking the shit out of you a lot of the time. If you don't know how to deal when your back's against the wall and you're overwhelmed, you're gonna die out there."

There was a stunned silence. "Selicy, you—that's—there are other ways to learn to fight—"

"Yeah, but I don't know how to teach that way, do I? She doesn't have to say yes, but I'm gonna offer what I have to offer. My way is nasty, but you can bet your ass she won't be losing any street fights."

Terra stared a moment longer, then nodded slowly. "..I'm not built for fighting, and I have no real experience. I appreciate the offer, but I don't think I have the temperament to fight the way you do."

Selicy nodded. "I can respect that. Best of luck; I'm headed out, I'm gonna go find my boyfriend." She walked off, and Reva and Terra stared after her.

"..She's.. different."

"She has that effect on people."

"No, I mean.. From when I last saw her, back then.. She was like a rabid animal, almost. It's what caused me to attack her; the dark inside saw her as a threat," Terra shook her head. "But now.. She's clearly still vicious, but it's not.. unhinged, I suppose? I don't get the impression that she's one step away from being a beast, now she's one step away from being a civilized person."

Reva gawked, then laughed in disbelief. " _Ruthless_."

Terra waved her hands in front of her. "No, no! I don't mean that badly, she's just obviously been through so much, and that sort of survival instinct isn't a trait that one needs in a societal context; civilized as opposed to _tribal_ , not animal."

Reva was surprised, and she smiled gently. "That's.. very insightful."

Terra flushed slightly. "Thank you," She shifted a moment. "Er.. I know it might be odd to ask this of my parole officer, but.. will _you_ teach me how to fight?"

"No, but I can teach you how to grapple. My personal experience is in a discipline that focuses on redirecting your attacker's strength and using it against them. It has the side benefit in this scenario of being _in_ effective as an offensive tool, so I'm more than happy to teach it to you. It's effective, and it's only useful to keep yourself safe." Reva scowled. "And after today, I'd rest easier knowing you had some way to protect yourself."

"Thank you, I appreciate it. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble."

"I know you will; you always do, it just seems to find you."

* * *

Selicy flopped into Lance's lap. "Uh. Sel? I'm kinda workin' here."

Hazel laughed. "Not anymore you're not."

"See? Hazel gets it. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you, and by talk I mean gossip."

"To _me_? You know I'm always happy to talk to you, but if you're after gossip, why me?"

"Well, I happened across Reva and Terra being menaced by some assholes on the south side of town."

"Oh, no," Hazel sighed. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, I scared them off. But that's not my point."

"You scared them off?" Hazel was confused. "Why?"

"Oh, yeah, I talked to Lance about this, but not everyone.. I came to the conclusion that nothing she's done is any worse than what I've done. Plus if the dark side thing is true, it wasn't even _her_ , not really, which means I'm even more on the bad side. To top it off, even though she hurt me, she only hurt me as bad as she did because I'm stubborn as hell. A normal person would have given up long before they _physically_ could not keep going."

"So you think if you deserve a chance, she does too?"

"Yeah. Us ex-warlords gotta stick together, you know? Gunner, me, her," She shrugged. "In a way, she did me a favor; I had no intention of stopping here. If all that hadn't happened, as scary as it all was, I never would have gotten my Lance back," She wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. "I can't say I want to do that again, but if I'd known up front that doing it would mean I'd be reunited with Lance, and that he still loved me? Yeah, I'd take that trade."

Lance teared up slightly. "Please don't; that was really sweet, and I love you too, but please don't get hurt anymore."

"I won't. But anyway, what I actually came here to talk about was the look on Reva's _face_ when I showed up; Terra couldn't see it, but holy shit, I have _never_ seen her like that."

Lance's mouth dropped open. "No way, are you suggesting Reva has a thing for Terra..?"

"I'm almost certain she does, because while Reva is pretty hardcore, 'stand down, or be _beaten_ down' is not her usual _brand_ of hardcore."

"Holy shit, did she really say that?"

"Yep, except in a way more threatening kinda way; like, the only reason I'm questioning it at all is because Reva really is that much of an angel," Selicy looked at Hazel. "But you haven't said a thing; you already knew, didn't you?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny anything."

Lance gawked. "You totally knew."

"Let her have her plausible deniability, it's not hers to share; besides, I'm sure enough on my own anyway. I of all people recognize the 'touch my love and _die_ ' face."

* * *

"Er.. Gunner?"

He turned, blinking in surprise when he saw Terra. "Oh, it's you. What's up?"

"How.. how did you figure out what you were going to do, after you decided to stop being a warlord? How did you find.. _this_?" She gestured around.

"It didn't exist, so Hazel and Lance and I decided to _make_ it exist. Find a need; meet it." He shrugged. "It's as simple as that. You trying to find your calling, then?"

"Something like that."

"Tell you what; once it's been a year, if you haven't found something on your own, come back and I'll see what needs doing around here, see if we can find you a job to make use of your talents."


	6. Reva

Reva knocked on the door.

It opened to reveal Terra, who beamed, but then quickly grew worried. "Reva! What—wait.. did I do something wrong?"

Reva shook her head quickly. "No! No, it's nothing like that, it's just.. well, I saw you nearly every single day for a year, it's just been.. odd not seeing you, I suppose. I have yet to completely fill my schedule back in with other duties in the absence of 'accompany Terra', so I have the time."

Terra smiled brightly. "Oh! Well, would you like to come in?"

"That sounds nice," Reva followed her inside, looking around curiously. "I haven't seen your new house yet, I like it."

Terra blushed. "You do? I may have gone a little overboard.. but Hazel said I could design it myself, and.. well, I couldn't resist trying to make it everything I wanted, you know?"

"You're going to be living here for a long time, it stands to reason that you would want it to be just right," Reva smiled. "I still live in a one-room building, because it feels like a waste to build something else."

"You haven't taken your housing credit?"

Reva shrugged. "I may eventually, I may not. If I never decide I need to, then someone else can have it."

"Selfless as always, I see," Terra smiled, then gently swayed from side to side with a bashful expression. "..would it be alright if I showed you around? I've never gotten to do that before."

"I would be _delighted_ ," Reva took off her boots, setting them neatly by the door. "Lead the way!"

* * *

Reva awoke slowly, sitting up—

—before promptly pitching sideways off the couch. "Waagh!"

Terra poked her head out of the kitchen. "Oh, gosh, are you alright? I was a little concerned that might happen.."

Reva blinked at her surroundings; she was.. in Terra's living room. She must have fallen asleep on the couch. "I'm alright. I apologize, I must have been more tired than I thought; I hope I wasn't too much trouble."

"Oh, no! Not at all, it was actually kind of nice," Terra blushed. "I know I'm always bringing it up, but.. this is all new to me; I didn't have a normal social life as a girl, and then the world ended, and then I was a _cult leader_."

Reva giggled. "You do have quite the story. Well, thank you for.." She realized she was still half wrapped in a blanket she didn't recognize, and her face flushed at the implication that Terra had tucked her in. She shook her head quickly. "Sorry; thank you for your hospitality."

"What are friends for?" Terra smiled sheepishly. "I'm allowed to say that, right?"

"I certainly consider us friends; I will admit.. after a few weeks, after you were injured.. it was clear to me you had no interest in doing anything but joining the community, and I began to view my assignment as that of bodyguard, not overseer."

Terra's cheeks were red, and her mouth had formed a small 'o'. She covered her mouth with a hand, giggling. "Well, don't I feel special! I do feel bad about keeping you from more productive things, but I certainly am thankful for the protection.." She shivered. "I don't want to imagine how things might have gone without you.." She sniffed once, twice, then bolted into the kitchen. " _Oh no!_ "

Reva laughed, standing to walk in after her. She watched with a gentle smile as Terra attempted to rescue what looked like a fairly standard breakfast assortment; bacon, eggs, pancakes. "Sorry to distract you."

"Oh, no, this happens all the time, unfortunately, I'm not very good still."

"Did you not know how to cook before?"

"Not really," Terra admitted. "It wasn't something I needed to know, for the most part; the bacon is fine, and so are the eggs, but I can't seem to figure out how to get the pancakes off in-between 'not-done' and 'burned'."

Reva walked closer, then let out a single laugh. "Terra, the stove is turned up as high as it goes, no wonder you're having problems."

"Oh," She looked at Reva, and her face was so innocently genuine that Reva could hardly look right at her. "Is that not how it's supposed to be used? I thought the lower settings were for making things that temperature, but if you just wanted to put heat in it didn't matter."

Reva felt her heart clench; she was too adorable.

..Well, it looked like she was teaching Terra how to cook. "No, the temperature is to affect how _fast_ the heat goes in; it's just that the temperature of the heating element is the only unit of measurement that's consistent between dishes."

"Ohh." Terra smiled shyly. "It's looking like I should just make sure you're here to explain things, huh?"

"Would you like me to? I was actually about to offer to help you."

Terra's eyes lit up. "Oh, would you?! That would be _wonderful_ ; this is going to be so much fun!"

Oh, Reva was _so_ done for. She finally understood what Hazel and Violette had meant when they talked about how they just.. _knew_.

..this was suddenly much more stressful with that knowledge in mind.

* * *

"You.. want a cookbook," Reva nodded, and Fiona smiled knowingly. "This has to do with Terra, doesn't it."

Reva blushed. "Perhaps."

Fiona threw her head back and laughed. "'Perhaps'! Oh, I love it," She smiled. "I can track one down for you two lovebirds."

"Oh, don't say anything, she doesn't know, it's.." Reva was _bright_ red at this point. "I wanted it to be a surprise.."

"Ugh, that is disgustingly adorable," Fiona shook her head, still smiling. "You can count on me."

* * *

"Reva?" An expression of alarm crossed Terra's face. "Shit, did I forget—" She looked back at the calendar, then frowned. "No, it's Tuesday.."

She looked back as Reva spoke up. "No, I just.. showed up," Reva shuffled awkwardly. "Sorry, I shouldn't just barge in like this."

"No! Come in, please! I'm always happy to see you," Terra smiled, waving her inside.

"Thank you," Reva came inside.

She took off her boots, then froze when she heard Terra speak again. "Is that a book? What's it about?"

"Erm.." Reva picked it up, holding it as though she wasn't sure what to do with it. "Well.. it's a cookbook, I thought it could be fun to both learn something new..?" Her shoulders rose with her uncertain tone, and she grinned awkwardly.

Terra was staring at her with stars in her eyes. " _I love it,_ " She broke into a blinding grin. "Reva, you're a genius!"

"I wouldn't go _that_ far," Reva blushed.

"Nope, you're a genius, I don't make the rules," Terra smiled impishly. "Now come on! I finally get to not be the only one who's totally lost; now we're _both_ going to have no idea what we're doing!"

"I don't understand you, no one else would be that excited about being confused," Reva laughed. "But I suppose I like that about you. You're more concerned with the journey, not the destination."

"Exactly! If I had a good time with someone I care about, who cares if I burned the food, or whatever other misfortune I may bring upon it," She took Reva's hand, pulling her towards the kitchen. "I'm learning and enjoying my time; isn't that what really matters?"

Reva stared at her as she followed along, heart racing. "..yeah, it is."

* * *

"Alright," Reva flopped down on a chair. "Flambé is a bad idea, noted."

Terra giggled, covering her mouth. "You have a big black streak on your forehead."

Reva tried to rub it off, but neglected to consider how it had gotten there to begin with. "Better?"

Terra tried to stop it, but in the end she only giggled harder. "N-no, that's even _worse_..!" She walked over, taking a towel and kneeling down. "Just hold still, I'll get it," She laid a hand on Reva's cheek to steady her head, and Reva was thankful the towel hung down between them so Terra couldn't see how red her face must be. "There."

She lowered the towel, but her hand lingered a moment longer than it needed to; or maybe that was just Reva's imagination. "..thanks."

"Are you alright?" Terra tilted her head. "Do you need some water, or is it just too warm in here? Your face is very red."

"No, I'm fine," Reva quickly looked away. "It's just a little warm, it will pass."

"Oh, good. It feels silly sometimes, but I worry. I've always been like this. I just.. hid behind my position, before, but here I can just be.. me."

"I like you." Reva felt her face flare up again at the way that sounded. "It's good to be yourself."

"I'm glad you think so; I certainly feel happier here than I did anywhere else. Even.. before."

Reva tilted her head. "I think you're the only person I know who remembers before the apocalypse but prefers the life they have now," She smiled softly. "Besides me, at least. I don't like what happened, but.. there wasn't much need for people like me before."

"And where would we be without you? It's safe to say you're well appreciated."

Reva blushed yet again. "Thank you.. that means a lot."

* * *

"Um.. Selicy?"

"Terra?" Selicy hopped off of her perch on the rafters of the winery, landing gracefully. "What's up? You probably don't want frost wine for cooking."

"No, it's not about—well, it's sort of about that—"

"Just tell her."

"What?!" Terra's eyes darted from side to side. "I don't—"

"You fell in love with her. Just tell her you want her. I'm serious. It's that easy. Just say 'Reva, I want to date.' You can be cheesier or whatever if you want, but it _will_ work."

"You really think it would be that easy?"

"I'm almost certain. Think of it this way; you only see Reva when she's around you, obviously. You literally _can't_ see her otherwise. I can; it's why it was so blindingly obvious to the militia that Gunner loved Fiona, but not to her. She couldn't see him when he wasn't around her."

"Reva looks at _me_ like that..?"

"I don't have any confirmation, mind, this is purely my speculation. But yeah, from where I'm standing.. she's really, _really_ into you. Though I have to ask, if you're in your mid-twenties, isn't she a bit old for you?"

Terra furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Reva's thirty-seven."

Terra gawked. "She does _not_ look it," Selicy laughed, and Terra began to sputter, waving her hands in front of herself. "Wait, that came out wrong."

"Suuure it did."

* * *

Reva knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again, and after a few moments she began to worry. She tried the door, which was unlocked. She poked her head inside. "Terra?" There was upbeat music playing from the kitchen, and she could hear.. something that sounded like someone _crying_. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her, then locking it as an afterthought.

If Terra _was_ crying, she'd probably want to avoid anyone barging in.

Reva halted in her tracks.

Did that include her..?

She shook her head. Better to ask forgiveness than permission. If she wasn't wanted she could leave, but if she _was_ wanted and she wasn't here there was no fixing that. She walked into the kitchen, and her eyes widened.

It was a _disaster_. There was flour all over the place, with what looked like the beginnings of some kind of dough at the epicenter of the powdery explosion. A few eggs lay cracked on the floor; another on the counter. Terra was slumped on the floor on her knees, sobbing into her hands with her legs splayed out to the sides—and given where she was with respect to the mess.. it looked like she dropped an egg, tried to save it, and proceeded to knock almost _everything_ over. She was covered in flour herself, too; even her hair, and her _socks_.

It would be endearing if it weren't for how _devastated_ Terra sounded. "..Terra?"

She gasped, trying to scramble to her feet and wipe her eyes at the same time, and Reva could see the writing on the wall. Sure enough, Terra's feet promptly slid out from under her on the flour strewn about, but Reva lunged forward to catch her just in time.

...It was good she'd left her boots on for once. Terra hid her face, shaking her head quickly. "No, no no no, you weren't supposed to see this."

Reva helped her to her feet, then hugged her gently. "It's okay, things happen."

"But—but I was—I wanted to—"

Reva gently rocked her back and forth. "It's okay; take your time, I'm here."

"..I wanted to impress you," Terra's voice hitched again. "I wanted to make you something, and it was going to be cute, and now I can't give it to you."

"But I thought it was about the journey."

"It's not about the _cake_ , it was about getting to give _you_ the cake!" Terra cried. "I don't care if I mess up, but I care if messing up _costs_ me something..!"

"You did give me something, though," Terra looked up at her, confused. "While it breaks my heart to see you cry this way, my first thought when I walked in was that this was a very you sort of problem, and that it was the exact sort of thing that's endeared you to me so."

Terra gave her a bewildered look. "..Really?"

"If you had been pouting—the angry one you do when you're not really all _that_ upset—I would have probably laughed until _I_ cried," Reva gently wiped Terra's cheeks. "So don't worry; and besides, who says you can't still make whatever it is before the next time I come over?"

Terra turned bright red. "..I don't _want_ to wait until next time.."

"Then this time; I didn't have any plans for what we would be making, it's a cookbook day anyway. Come on," Reva smiled, taking a half step back. "Let's get this cleaned up and make something together."

Terra drew a shaky breath, tears running down her face again. " _Reva_ ," She threw herself into Reva's arms, who let out a quiet 'oof'. "Reva, you're so good to me..!" She whispered.

"Terra, what—what's wrong, this isn't like you; are you okay? Did something happen?"

"I—Sorry, I don't—" Terra started to pull away, but Reva didn't budge. "Wha—"

"I never said I minded, just that it's not like you; talk to me, Terra. Please?"

Terra stared at her for a very long moment. "..I.." She swallowed, looking away. "I'm just.. a bit emotional, I think.. Thank you for comforting me."

Reva nodded, recognizing a deflection when she saw it. "Any time, Terra. Really."

"I'm taking you up on that."

"I look forward to it."

* * *

"Okay, it's.. I have to put on the icing, but I can do this part without a catastrophe, I _hope_ , so.. turn around."

"Ah, is it a surprise?"

"I guess you could say that."

Reva obliged her, turning away. "Well, let it never be said that I'm a poor sport."

"So.. how was your day?"

Reva snorted. "Same as most days; don't worry, the life of a soldier is one where variety is _not_ the desired outcome."

"That's.. good?"

"I keep the town safe; if all is well, all is the same. That's alright with me. There's a peacefulness to it, and it's fulfilling knowing I'm making a difference. Besides.. if I need something to liven up my day, I need only come here."

"I'm taking that as a compliment."

Reva chuckled. "You should, it was supposed to be." There was a pause. "What about you? Flour explosion aside, was today well for you?"

"It was.. well, I'm still trying to find my place. I don't think I'm there yet.. You seem so confident in _your_ calling, but.."

"Many aren't; I know Arch feels aimless sometimes, and Striker. Cross, too, and they've been here since before I have. It might take a while, but that's okay."

"..Thanks, Reva. That.. means a lot to me." Reva heard the sound of the pan scraping on the counter. "..Okay. You can turn around now," Reva did, and found herself in front of a red-faced Terra, holding out a cake with a heart on it. "..I couldn't figure out what to write, so I just did this.."

Reva took it gingerly, looking at it a long moment with a smile. She looked back at Terra. "I see why you were so distraught; and why you didn't want to wait."

Terra wasn't making eye contact. "..yeah," She fidgeted nervously. "So.."

Reva set the cake down carefully on the kitchen table, then stepped forward to slip her arms around Terra's waist. "To be clear, this isn't some inscrutable cultural declaration of friendship?"

Terra barked out a laugh. " _What_? Is that a _thing_?"

Reva shrugged. "I wouldn't know; why do you think I asked? I would hate to make an incorrect assumption, it would make things terribly awkward after this."

"After wha—" Terra was cut off by Reva leaning in and pressing their lips together gently. "..oh, okay, yeah, I see what you meant," She draped her arms around Reva's shoulders. "Do that again..?"

Reva smiled, obliging her. She pulled away after a few moments with a gentle smile. "Like I said before.. while it pained me so to see you cry, that moment is even cuter knowing the reason behind it."

Terra pouted—the angry one that meant she wasn't really all that upset—and Reva laughed. Terra stuck out her tongue. "Don't make fun of meeee."

"I would never; I am very fond of your earnest behavior, be it clumsiness or otherwise."

"Good, because I can't change it."

"I wouldn't want you to. I like you as you are, remember?"

"Thanks, Reva—oh," Terra looked at her guiltily. "This is going to be troublesome for your reputation, isn't it.."

"How so?"

"Well, you're the city's guardian knight, its guardian _angel_ , and I'm.. an ex-warlord. A lot of people still call me a monster, even now.."

"I wouldn't say I'm a guardian angel, you're biased."

"Selicy's words, not mine; and Hazel agreed."

Reva was shocked. "What? How many people think that?!"

"Probably most of them? Reva, you're so kind to everyone, and you're incorruptible, and you're passionate about doing good," Terra laid her forehead on Reva's shoulder. "You're certainly _my_ guardian angel, and I'd say you're the city's too."

"..I had no idea," Reva shook her head. "But that aside, I'm not your parole officer anymore; the next person to call you a monster is going to become well-acquainted with the floor in short order."

Terra gasped, then giggled. "Reva!"

"It's always bothered me, but it wasn't appropriate for me to step in; now it's not inappropriate, _and_ we're together, so I will _not_ tolerate that sort of thing."

"Please don't get into trouble, it's okay, I know how to ignore it by now," Terra kissed Reva's neck gently, causing her to take a sharp breath. "Oh! Sorry, am I not supposed to do that..?"

Reva blinked, then laughed quietly. "You.. I suppose you wouldn't know that, you had a rather isolated upbringing.." She deliberated on how to explain. "That's.. well, a different kind of intimate."

Terra squeaked, turning bright red. "Oh..! Sorry..! Should I not..?"

Reva kept her tone neutral. "I'm not sure if 'should' is a word that makes sense in this particular context."

"..do you want me to?" Terra's breath ghosted over Reva's neck. "..I did kind of like the sound you made, now that I know it's not bad.."

Reva shivered, whispering in Terra's ear. "..Then by all means, indulge yourself."


	7. Selicy

A man stood on the stage with a microphone. "Why should _we_ have to pay for it? What gives them the right to _our_ money?"

The noise in the crowd grew, people getting fired up.

_"He's right!"_

_"Why should **we** pay for those layabouts?"_

_"When was the last time the militia even did anything, anyway?"_

Selicy snarled, stalking up to the stage. She hopped onto it, much to the presenters surprise, snatching the microphone out of his hands. "What the hell is wrong with you!? What gives you the right—"

"This is a Merchant's Association meeting, what gives _you_ the right to interrupt me like this!"

She rounded on him. "Don't fucking interrupt _me_ , asshole; and I'm the owner of Snowpierce Winery, _that's_ what gives me the right to speak! I'm one of the biggest businesses in town, so piss off," She turned back to the crowd, who was beginning to look unsure now that they knew who she was. "How _dare_ you act like the militia doesn't do anything for us?!"

"Yeah? What _have_ they done, then?" A voice called out.

"Two years ago, Gunner saved my life! He and Violette and Reva rescued me after a regional warlord broke _both my legs_! Do you have any idea what's it's like to look death in the eyes? Huh?!"

The crowd was completely silent. "That's right, you don't! You know why? Because Hazel and the militia are a force to be reckoned with, and that means all the small-time raiders know better than to start shit! You disband the militia or what ever the hell it is you were planning, mark my words, you have a month at _most_ before the raids start."

"How would _you_ know about raiders?! You're practically a little girl!"

"Do you really want to know that? Huh? I'm not gonna back down; I'm ashamed of my past, but I'm not afraid of it!"

A murmur ran through the crowd.

_"Was she a raider?"_

_"Her? No way, look at her."_

_"I dunno, she does seem a bit unhinged.."_

The same voice called out. "I don't believe you."

"There are people in this city who've got a lot of blood on their hands, for whatever reason; Gunner, because he's been a mercenary, and then defending the city. Hazel, a bit more indirectly, but still her doing all the same. And then me. I used to be a warlord too, in the far north. I was ruthless. A murderer. Am I proud of that? _Fuck_ no! But I'm not gonna pretend it didn't happen to try and make myself look better! And it definitely means I know how a warlord thinks! This place as it is now is _not_ worth the trouble, no warlord could pull together a big enough force to take us on and even come close to winning; but with no militia? The turrets are good, but they can't stop a coordinated attack. If I had heard about a place like this disbanding their army like that, you can bet I'd have my sights set on my next conquest."

"Why should we listen to you, if you've done all the things you say!"

"That _is_ why, jackass! I'm not asking you to trust me to be a good person, I'm telling you that getting rid of defenses is a colossally stupid idea! How could that _possibly_ benefit me over anyone else?! I pay _more_ business taxes than most of you; if anything I stand more to lose!"

There were scattered murmurs still, but the tone was shifting.

_"She has a point there.."_

_"It does mean she understands the financial details.."_

The man on stage was fuming. "I will not allow this! Get off the stage!"

She didn't look over. "Bite me."

"I will remove you myself if I have to!"

She glared out of the corner of her eye. "Do it, then. See how long your business lasts when I refuse to sell to anyone who buys from you."

"I—you—"

"Oh, what, did you expect miss ex-warlord to threaten violence? No, I'm better than that, I've put that behind me. But I'm every bit as ruthless as I used to be, and I have the market share to back it up. I will _ruin_ you if you make an enemy of me, because if there's something I can count on, it's that everyone wants their wine, and I'm the only one who makes frost wine around here. They can find someone else to buy from instead of you; they can't do that with me. It's me or nothing."

He stared at her in shock, speechless. She looked back to the crowd. "But I've said my piece. We need the militia. Period. If you get rid of them anyway.. don't come crying to me." She handed the microphone back, and hopped off the stage, striding away.

She was still furious, but it had calmed to a directed anger; she had a goal, and she was going to see it done. She walked to Hazel's machine shop.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sound of Violette's music, along with the smell of Hazel welding something. "Hey guys."

The welding stopped, but the music continued. Violette smiled, giving her a slight bow, then went back to focusing on her music—though she did lower the volume. Hazel walked over. "Oh, hey Selicy. You need something, or just dropping by?"

"I want to put in an order."

"Oh? That's not like you; did something happen, or are you planning to expand?"

"Something happened, but not with the winery. Some asshat at the Merchant's Association was rabble-rousing, trying to get them to vote on disbanding the militia."

Hazel drew herself up. "That's ridiculous!"

"Yeah, that's what I told them."

"Wait, did you argue with him?"

"I actually stole the microphone and yelled at the crowd for a bit. I think I mostly got through to them, actually, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I made it very clear what my stance was, and I want to make it extra clear I fucking _mean_ it."

"Oh...kay?"

"I want to order signage. Two hundred for now, it doesn't really matter how they're made, as long as they're durable enough to be hung or mounted outside."

"Oh, holy shit." Hazel nodded, smiling. "You got it. What lettering?"

"High visibility, high readability. I don't want fancy, I want practical. I want you to be able to read it from a block away, but I don't want it to be huge. Or however far is practical without making them too expensive."

"I can do that, easy. Plain lettering cutout on aluminum-bronze, with an aluminum backplate. The letters will be silver, and while nothing is truly corrosion-proof, as it corrodes the frontplate will actually darken, which will make it higher contrast anyway. The backplate would take decades to corrode any appreciable amount."

"I'm gonna just nod, because I know you know your shit, but I have no idea what you just said."

"It'll be a dark-ish reddish-gold, with silver letters; if you just mount it and never worry about it again, the visibility will actually _improve_ over time, 'cause the gold part will get darker and the silver won't."

"You're a genius, Hazel. What do I owe you?"

"I'll invoice you after I get the alloys cast; I'm not sure exactly what balance I'll need yet."

"Sounds good."

"What do you want it to say?"

* * *

Lance stared at the foot-wide placard mounted next to the door.

_To the defenders of Refuge:_

_Thank you for keeping us safe._

He looked down, scrubbing at his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling Sel was behind this."

"Because I was." He started, then turned around. "You guys don't get enough credit."

"This is.. thank you, Selicy."

"No," She walked up to him, taking his face in her hands and giving him a gentle kiss. "Thank _you_ , Lance. You, and Gunner, and all of the rest of you; you've given me and countless others something we thought we would never have again; a _home_. I know my neighbors' names. I have a favorite cafe where the staff recognize me, mostly. Two years ago, I dreamed, hoped, _prayed_ that someday I might be able to have some semblance of peace, and— if I was _lucky_ —that I could find you. I never could have imagined that the life I have now was even _possible_ , let alone hoping it would come to pass.

She smiled warmly. "But here we are. I have you, I have a _business_ ; me! Little Selene, who traded and bartered and passed things around like I was born to do it. And now I'm finally there. I'd forgotten about that dream, and then.. I met a man named Gunner, who was building a city, and suddenly I realized.. I could do it. I even had the perfect market; no one else can make frost wine because it's just not cost-effective to manage the delicate temperature differences down here, but when you have ice magic.."

"..You called yourself Selene."

She blinked. "I.. did, didn't I?..I've come full circle, I guess. I left Selene behind when I fled to the north, and I became Selicy, the ruthless warlord; but now that I'm back, and I've taken up my childhood passion again.. that's not Selicy. That's not what that part of me is."

"Should I keep calling you Selicy? Or should I switch back?"

"I think.." She blushed slightly. "I think it's best to stick to Selicy in public, I'm a fairly public figure because of Snowpierce."

"And don't think I didn't notice what you did there."

She stuck out her tongue. "And? I'll name my winery after the two of us if I want to; so there," He laughed, and she giggled along with him. "But anyway.. Selicy in public, but.. if it's just the two of us, at home? I think it would be nice to be able to completely set that mantle aside.. and just be your Selene."

He swallowed hard. "I would love that."

"Good, because you're stuck with me; but I still want you to be happy. I love you, Lance." She shifted bashfully. "..and you can make an exception to the in-public thing this time, if you want."

"I love you too, Selene." He pulled her to his chest, holding her tightly. "I love you _so much_."

* * *

Fiona walked into the Merchant's Association headquarters. "Hi, quick question; what the _fuck_?"

Everyone in the room started slightly. "I'm sorry?"

"I heard about the militia vote coming up."

Most people wouldn't make eye contact. "You're dating the Warden! Conflict of interest!"

"My job is literally commerce management, funding the militia is _part of that_ ," She swiped her hands through the air. "Not the point I came here to make. The point I came here to make is that while I have an official position, I'm still a business owner besides. That was the arrangement I came to with Gunner. I keep my business, in return, I assume the financial risk of commerce going in and out of the city."

_"Wait, really?"_

_" **That's** how she kept it?"_

_"I had always wondered, it didn't seem like Gunner to allow favorites like that.."_

"This also means I get to make my own decisions, and therefore; if you vote against the militia, know that I will not be doing business with you for one calendar year. I don't mean the Association; I mean each and every one of you individually. No longer than a year, because that would be unreasonable."

"You can't look at our votes, that's an abuse of power!"

"You do realize I'm the one who's going to be counting them, right? I inherently _have_ to, and to take this further, no, it's not an abuse of power; I believe the militia to be necessary, both for reasons of safety _and_ economics. Repairs are expensive. If you vote against, I see no reason to shield you from the losses we will likely incur. I will save that capital to fix the mess _you made_ , because I care about this city and everyone in it." She nodded. "I have nothing more to say."

* * *

Selicy tilted her head, a mischievous smile on her face. "So; when are you gonna quit stalling and ask Violette to marry you?"

Hazel started, face red. "What?! I'm not—I wasn't—"

"Yeah, I _know_ you weren't, that's my _point_ ," Selicy snorted. "What's holding you back? Lance and I somehow got engaged before _you_ two did, and you two have been together for years now."

"That's not a fair comparison, you two grew up together!"

"So what? Violette is obviously crazy about you, Hazel; what are you afraid of?"

"I—she—" Hazel sighed. "..I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. It's silly, but.. I was _there_ , Selicy, I _watched_ Saffron almost destroy the world, and I was too late to stop her."

Selicy's eyes widened. "Whoa, hang on; you _know_ the person who caused the apocalypse?!"

"..Yeah. We were coworkers. She ignored my warnings, and we all paid the price. I've only seen her once since it happened.. and I told her she better not show her face here again."

"Holy shit. Yeah, alright, that's a good reason to be afraid."

Hazel shook her head in confusion. "What? _How_?"

"Trauma like that doesn't just go away. I still have nightmares about the north, and about the night the soldiers took Lance. Sometimes I wake up sobbing because I'm convinced he's going to just vanish one day, that I'll lose him again. And I didn't go through what you did. It's not your fault, Hazel, but it's also okay to be upset, and it's okay to struggle with it, even if you _know_ it's not your fault."

Hazel blinked. "You.. wow, that was.. really philosophical."

"I've had a lot of time to think, wine-making involves a lot of waiting; and I've got a _lot_ of shit to think about. For what it's worth.. If something bad happens, will it be because you married her?"

"Not.. directly, but it feels like I've got a karmic thundercloud hanging over my head, and if tip the scales any further.."

"So you're worried that having that kind of happiness is going to cause some kind of weird karmic backlash."

"It sounds dumb when you put it that way."

"I can freeze things solid through force of will, I refuse to believe _anything_ is truly impossible. But I have a counterpoint; is _not_ marrying her any better? If she dearly wants to marry _you_ , wants it as badly as you want to marry her, isn't denying her that just tipping the scales the same way, but from the other end?"

Hazel stared at her in shock, then looked down slightly, thinking to herself. "I hadn't thought of it that way.. even _if_ karma only takes me into account, holding out on her is still something she doesn't deserve," She looked up suddenly. "I need your help."

" _Now_ we're talking," Selicy grinned. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

"Lance? Could I ask you something?" Violette stood in the doorway to the supply office.

"Huh? Yeah, what's up?"

"..how did you know the time was right to ask Selicy to marry you?"

"Uh.. she asked me to marry her, so.. it was a pretty unambiguous signal."

Violette snorted. "I should have seen that coming."

"Yeah, kinda."

"Well, I suppose my question then becomes 'when did you know that you would say yes?'"

He shifted side to side uncomfortably. "Oh boy.. well, we've known each other since we can remember, and we were practically inseparable; I just.. ever since I was like, maybe nine or ten? I had just assumed we would get married someday, and I know that's a very 'little kid' mindset, but.." He smiled softly. "When she came back, and threw herself into my arms, I was so confused, but then she said it was because I reminded her of someone from her past. Someone who said they'd always protect her. She saw me, and while she didn't realize I _was_ her Lance, and I didn't realize she was my Selene."

"Selene?"

He halted. "Oh—don't—don't tell her I said that, that's.. her real name is Selene, but she goes by Selicy because of her time in the north, and even though that's behind her now she still goes by it because of the winery," He tilted his head back and forth. "I don't think she'd care, but it wasn't mine to tell."

"I won't say anything."

Lance nodded gratefully. "But anyway.. We didn't recognize each other, but despite that, I felt comforting and familiar enough that she would have a total stranger hold her that way after a traumatic event like that.. And then she said that, and I realized she _was_ my Selene. That even after everything, even after eleven _years_ , she still loved me, deep down," He laughed quietly. "I wasn't uncomfortable because she was crying, I was uncomfortable because I was suddenly facing down the full weight of my feelings for Selene, feelings I'd locked away for years, because she was just so _familiar_."

"So in other words, as soon as it became clear she still loved you, you knew?"

"I didn't think of it that way at the time, but.. I knew that I would do _anything_ to keep her safe, and to make sure we never got separated ever again. I had my Selene back, and I wasn't _about_ to let something take her from me." He thumbed the engagement ring on his finger. "I love her more than anything in the world. I can't think of _anything_ I wouldn't give up if it meant I could stay by her side." He looked up at Violette. "So I don't know how to help figure out _where_ the line is drawn, but tell me this; if you had to give up your violin—never play again, if you just.. ceased to be a musician, but that meant you wouldn't lose Hazel.. Would you? And it's okay to think on it, that's a big question."

"If I had to choose between Hazel and music..?" He nodded, and she thought for a while, arms crossed with her chin resting on a fist. Finally, she lowered her arms. "I think.. it would be very close. But.. while there are other things in life that I could enjoy.. I could _never_ replace Hazel. Life is what you make of it, and we all have our own path to tread. No matter where it leads me, there will be things to see along the way." She nodded decisively. "And I want Hazel beside me to see them. Thank you, Lance."

"I'm happy to help. I'm glad you two found each other. And for whatever my perspective's worth; I think you'd make Hazel the happiest woman alive if you asked her to marry you."

She straightened to her full height. "Then I will. I have to be going; I have planning to do."

"You got this." He grinned. "Go."

* * *

Violette glared at the staff paper. Nothing was turning out the way she wanted; it was usually so _easy_ , but for this, the _most important_ song she would _ever_ write—

Nothing. Sure, ideas came and went; but they were all too fast, or too somber, or too plodding, or, or, or. She sighed, resting her head on the table. "Vi? Are you okay? That was a big sigh."

She smiled, despite her frustration. Leave it to her Hazel to cut through her sour mood in an instant. "..I'm okay, just frustrated. I'm trying to write a song, and it simply won't turn out right."

Hazel padded over, rubbing Violette's shoulder affectionately. "I'm sorry, dear. It's rough, coming up against a creative block like that."

"Does it ever happen to you?"

"Oh, all the time. I'm actually home early today because of it."

Violette looked at the clock, and sure enough, it was several hours before Hazel would usually return. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be complaini—" She cut herself off. "No, if I'm going to insist you have the right to complain I should allow myself the same."

Hazel leaned down to press her lips to Violette's temple. "And I like that about you. You try your best to practice what you preach, so to speak. Now; tell me about this song."

 _Uh oh._ "I'm not even sure what to say, I know the feeling in my heart, but I don't know how to adequately express it, so I turned to music, and now here I am."

"Mmm; so the problem isn't about deciding the message, but the delivery."

"That is a good way to put it, yes."

"Well, what are your available options?"

"I'm sorry?"

"When I run into a technical problem, I try to go through and lay out everything I know that could help, even if it doesn't seem practical for that application, and then I go through those topics and pick out all the implementations I could put together with what I have to work with, and when I'm done I have a rough list of all the possible solutions, or at least, the ones that don't involve developing something totally new."

"Which to hear you tell it seems to be a common occurrence for you," Violette smirked.

"Not.. _that_ often," Hazel blushed. "Anyway, back to my point; if you're not sure about the delivery, why not list your options?"

"I.. don't know how, music is.. freeform."

"Categories, then. Then subcategories, and so on. Music has categories, I do at least know that much," Hazel laughed.

"Well.. I suppose that's true; and it's certainly more productive than what I'm doing now. I'll try that."

"Cool! So what's first?"

Violette blinked. "You want to help?"

Hazel ducked her head. "Sorry, I just.. I'm not great at music—what am I saying, you know that—so I got excited to have a chance to help you, and share that process with you; that part of your life. You _love_ music, and I wish I could love it _with_ you more than just.. enjoying the end result."

Violette's mind was racing. "..Alright. I would love to; first is.. hmm. There are a lot of ways to divide this.."

"Let me get my whiteboard," Hazel dashed excitedly out of the room, and Violette giggled.

_I love that woman to death. And maybe.. maybe this is exactly what I need. After all.._

_What better way to capture the essence of the woman I love than to include her in the process? They say a song reflects its creator, and this song.. I want it to reflect my love for her. So perhaps I was doomed to failure had I tried it alone, or perhaps not, but.._

_This is likely going to be something wondrous._

"Okay, I'm back! What are we working with?"

Violette giggled again at Hazel's naked excitement. "Well, on the construction, we have tempo, time signature..."

* * *

Hazel set down the soldering iron, standing up and walking away, fingers pressed to her temples. It had to be perfect, but she was the most talented machinist around, why was this so _hard_?! She let out a growl of frustration, kicking a tire she had bolted to the floor for this very reason. It wobbled comically back and forth, and she glared at it as though it did so to mock her, somehow.

"Hazel, darling? Has the tire offended you? Do I need to fetch Selicy?"

Hazel looked over in surprise, and smiled when she saw Violette trying to stifle a grin. "Hey, Vi."

"What troubles you?"

"Just.. I'm not producing the kind of results I'm used to seeing from myself, I know I'm better than this, but it just isn't working."

"This feels strikingly similar to a conversation we had a few days ago with that song you're helping me write."

"I guess it is, huh?"

"I'd offer to return the favor, but I'm not sure what I would have _to_ offer."

Hazel was quiet a moment. "Well.. you've said you don't mind playing while I work, and it _is_ really soothing."

Violette beamed. "I would be delighted. Allow me to fetch my violin; for once I don't have it with me."

Hazel smiled softly as she went. Maybe this was what she needed. She had to get this just right; it was probably the most important thing she'd ever designed.

Maybe the pressure was why she was having such a hard time. Having Violette's music to calm her was likely to be an enormous help.

* * *

Hazel took the object out from behind her back. "It's a portable hologram recorder; I don't know how common they were back where you were from, but.. I thought it would be nice to be able to have a way to record songs, or messages, or whatever you wanted. Each data crystal can only hold one thing, which isn't very efficient, I'm still working on that part—anyway, if you try to record over something it just doesn't work. There's a recording in there already, along with a blank; it also does playback."

Violette took the gift with wide eyes. "..thank you so much, this is.." She smiled. "I love it, it's so very you, and it's a lovely gift even if it weren't; the best kind of gift, if you ask me."

"Aww," Hazel smiled, but she still seemed nervous.

"Should I watch the recording?"

"You.. you can if you want," Hazel chuckled, clearly trying to keep it together.

Violette pressed the button marked 'play', and an image of Hazel sprang into being.

" _Okay, here we go.. Violette, I love you with all my heart. You waltzed into my life—pun intended—and suddenly I found joy in the smallest of things. Waking up and getting to see you there beside me, or listening to you hum to yourself, or to you play while I work. You changed my life in a way I never could have imagined.. And I never want to go back._

 _Violette; will you marry me?_ "

Hazel held a ring out with a sheepish expression. "I know it was cheesy, but.."

Violette carefully set the recorder on a nearby table, surreptitiously hitting 'record' as she did, then nearly tackled Hazel in a hug. " _Yes_! Yes I will marry you," She kissed her soundly, pulling away with a teary grin. "I have something for you as well; I finished that song we were writing as well."

Hazel beamed. "Ooh, I can't wait!"

"Then I shan't keep you waiting!" Violette retrieved her violin, and began to play. Hazel watched and swayed gently as she listened, enthralled to the very end.

She applauded, and Violette bowed. "It was lovely! Oh, it turned out so well, I'm so honored to have been a part of it; what did you name it?"

"I struggled with that, and decided to just keep it simple; 'Dear Hazel'."

"You named it after me..?" Hazel was awestruck.

"I did. And.. I wrote it to ask you to marry me."

"No way; the _same evening_? That _would_ happen to us," Hazel laughed, tears running down her face. "Yes, I will marry you, I love you, Vi."

"I love you too, Hazel." Violette kissed her gently. There was a soft ping from the recorder, and she looked over. "Does that mean the blank is full?"

"You got that on recording!?" Hazel gawked.

"I did." Violette grinned. "Of all the moments to have a recording of."

Hazel grabbed her by the face, kissing her soundly. "I love you _so much_ , Violette."

"I love you too, Hazel." Violette smiled, tears in her eyes. "I could not be happier."


	8. To The Future

_Shit, the only nearby settlement is Refuge, and they'll probably kill me on sight.._

_But do I have a choice? I can't just **leave** her here.._

Saffron went as fast as she could, finally reaching the walls of the fortress—it was a city, Saffron reminded herself, not a fortress—Hazel and Gunner had built. She called over the wall. "Someone's hurt really bad, she needs help!"

The door rumbled open slowly, and the guards leveled their weapons at Saffron when they realized who she was. "I thought Hazel told you never to come back."

"It's not about me, I'll go, but she needs help," Saffron pleaded.

"Wait, that's—!" The guard sprinted away.

The other guard addressed her. "Stay there. The doc'll be here soon."

Soon enough, a woman with a gurney arrived, and Saffron placed Violette onto it gently. "Thank you; I'll leave now. I know I'm not welcome here."

" _Violette!!_ " Hazel skidded to a halt by the gurney, taking Violette's hand. "Vi, please be okay," Her desperate eyes turned to Saffron, growing more hostile by the second. "What happened?! _What did you do?!?_ "

Saffron held up her hands. "I didn't hurt her, I swear, I found her like this."

"..she's telling the truth," Hazel's eyes widened, and she looked down at the woman on the gurney. "It was the dark part of Terra.."

"Shh, hon, you need to rest, it'll be okay," Hazel pressed a soft kiss to Violette's forehead, who smiled weakly. The doctor wheeled her away.

It finally dawned on Saffron how Hazel felt. "I'll go; I'm sorry, Hazel, I know you said I shouldn't come back, but I couldn't just let her die."

"Saffron," She stopped at Hazel's quiet tone. "..thank you. I still think you're reckless, arrogant, and irresponsible.. but you saved my wife today. So thank you."

"..You're welcome. I promise I'm working to be better. I know we can't be friends again, but.. I'm glad I was able to save you from even more loss. You don't deserve that."

"..and thank you for sparing her that day, a few years back. If you hadn't.."

Saffron furrowed her brow, then gasped. "I _thought_ I recognized her! She's.. different, somehow."

Hazel laughed quietly. "She's not almost starving every day, it's amazing how gaunt a person looks when they live meal to meal like that."

Saffron nodded slightly. "I can imagine.." She turned to leave. "I'll go now, don't worry—oh—" She cut off when she felt a hand catch her wrist.

She turned back to see Hazel looking away. "..I've learned a lot, in the years since I last saw you. I've learned a lot about what it means to care for a city, to care for people, to do the right thing." Hazel looked back, exhaustion evident in her expression. "What it means to forgive people."

"Hazel, you—" Saffron stared in shock. "..do you..?"

"I was angry. I'm still angry; you fucked up, Saffron. But that doesn't make you a bad _person_. I've heard stories, here and there, from people you've helped. I knew you before, and your colossal foolhardiness aside, you always did mean well. I was hurt, that you didn't believe me. I thought.. we were closer than that. But that's the past. Now.. I'm the Pioneer of _Refuge_. And if Terra's shadow is out there, we need all the help we can get."

Saffron nodded, a determined expression making its way onto her face. "What do you need me to do."

* * *

"You are _nothing_ without me!" The woman held her staff above her head in both hands. "I will destroy all you hold dear, that which you have _forsaken me for!_ "

"What the fuck, what is Terra doing!? And why is she wearing that black and red robe?!"

Reva snarled. "That's not my Terra." She vaulted the battlement, free-falling the three stories to the ground below. She landed hard, Eschaton dispersing the impact into a shockwave that bloomed around her, throwing dirt and grass into the air. She rose, throwing a hand out to point at the shade of her dearest love. "You! Leave this place, or we will strike you down!"

"You could never hope to match my power! Terra was a born ruler, but she was too weak to take what was rightfully hers! And thus, I will take what was once hers! After all," She grinned wickedly. " _I'm not her,_ " Her staff began to glow, and Reva could hear the militia on the ramparts mobilizing.

Reva knew she needed to stop whatever that spell was; Terra wielded an enormous amount of destructive power, and if this was anything similar.. She charged forwards, holding Eschaton in front of her as she went. "I will not let you harm this city!"

"Ha! Foolish girl; you cannot stop me! I am Fractura, the Empress of this ruined world! But if you are so eager to die, then so be it!" Fractura didn't move, but the head of her staff flashed once, twice.

Reva felt her hair stand on end, and she dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the thin pillar of crimson energy that struck the ground where she had stood only moments before. A split-second later, a deafening roar issued forth as the ground tore itself apart, bits of earth and rock pinging off Reva's armor. The shockwave didn't slow, and Reva scrambled to regain her footing enough to call on Eschaton's defensive magic, but there wasn't enough time. The blast launched her into the air, and she crashed to the ground some forty feet away. She struggled to her feet, ears ringing. "..quite the one-two punch you've got there, but it'll take more than that."

Fractura's cruel smile never faded. "Oh, dear Reva; that was just one."

Reva felt the same prickling on her skin as the second beam came streaking down; she couldn't do that again. She only had one option. She raised Eschaton to the sky, praying she was fast enough. "NO!" The beam impacted her shield, and the force drove her to her knees; Eschaton's magic held true, however, and the attack rebounded back into the sky.

"Tch," Fractura scowled, finally lowering her staff. "Fine. You have proven enough of a nuisance." She pointed her staff at Reva, magic gathering in the crook. "Perish."

A wave of ice roared towards Fractura, and Reva saw her barely leap back out of the way; Selicy skated up a moment later, still channeling her power to keep the massive glacier in place. "You can't take another hit like that, and you may be damn good at what you do, but one hit and you're dead. Fall back; I'm fast enough that she can't take me out with an attack like that, you can only reflect and hope you don't mess up."

"..I don't like it, but you're right. What's your plan?"

Selicy bared her teeth in a snarl, and her usual twin blades of ice coalesced in her hands. "I'm gonna slice her to _ribbons_! It's time for _payback_."

"Selicy—be careful, okay?"

"Not my style, but I'll try."

Reva ran for the gates—hobbled, more accurately; Selicy was right, she couldn't take another hit like that. She wasn't even sure if she could withstand _reflecting_ another strike like that. She made it inside, and she was immediately met by Triage and his team. They helped her sit down, and Reva let herself relax.

Moments later, the world went dark.

* * *

Hazel walked with a purpose to the watchtower by the gates. She stepped up to the door. "Authorization code Bravo-Foxtrot-Golf-Nine-Three-Zero."

A processed voice responded. " _Further identification required._ "

"Pioneer Hazel."

" _Voice profile accepted. This event has been logged._ "

The door opened, and Hazel strode into the tower.

She began to flip switches, diverting power from other parts of the city.

* * *

Gunner took another shot, interrupting Fractura as she tried to cast a spell for what must have been the umpteenth time; but no matter how many times they had this little exchange, he couldn't _hit_ her! He growled to himself. "Arch, status!"

Arch didn't respond, and Striker called over. "He's busy; he's making sure Selicy has enough mana to keep going, and that girl can chew through it like nobody's business," Arch's eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sitting cross-legged. Upon second glance, however, Gunner noticed the faint blue glow surrounding him was illuminating the floor below him too; he was actually floating an inch or so above the ground.

Gunner nodded. "Good work; what's the situation with everyone else?" He whipped his rifle up, taking another shot; another aborted spell, another miss. " _Dammit_."

"Lance is managing supplies for the medics, Fiona and Violette are on crowd control duty, Reva is unconscious, but alright, and I haven't heard about Terra and Saffron. Kernel is probably working overtime making sure the grid is stable for Hazel’s defense network." Striker grinned. "Phantom is still out on recon; poor guy's gonna miss all the fun."

Gunner laughed. "You would say that; what about Cross and Freight?"

"Haven't heard from them either."

"Alright. Keep me posted."

* * *

Terra was frozen in fear. She knew that magic. She knew that darkness. It was _her_. Saffron shook her gently. "Terra, hey, you gotta stick with me, they need our help."

Terra blinked, looking up. "..You're right. We have to protect the city."

"Come on; I have a plan. I think between all of us we can pen her in enough to stop her from dodging."

"And then you can use Ragnarok?"

"That too, but the main goal is to set up a shot for whatever Hazel has in store."

"Hazel?"

Saffron grinned. "She was head of research and development for Hexawan before the war; if you think her gun turrets are impressive.."

* * *

Hazel flipped the main breaker for the tower, and the room was filled with the high-pitched whine of a dozen capacitors charging at once. She crossed to the center of the room, vaulting up into the chair mounted to the side of the massive contraption in the middle. She flipped a few switches, then kicked a release lever, and the entire thing began to rise.

* * *

Fiona looked at Violette, panic on her face. "Why did we just lose power?! What _happened_!?"

Violette just smiled, pointing at the watchtower. "That, dear Fiona, would be my wife."

Fiona looked over, and her eyes widened as the top of the tower opened up. "Holy _shit_ , that is the biggest gun I've ever seen in my _life_."

"It's her most advanced design. She calls it.."

* * *

"..the MAC. It's an acronym; Mana Accretion Cannon. I saw her test fire it once.." Gunner shivered. "That thing terrifies me."

Striker stared at him in horror. "It terrifies _you_?!"

"We have to make sure she doesn't miss, she's only got one shot; it takes like an hour to recharge, and it's gonna blackout the whole city."

Striker nodded. "What do you need us to do?"

"That's where we come in."

They turned to see Terra and Saffron, and Gunner nodded grimly. "Good. Lock her down so Hazel can wipe her off the face of the planet. No one threatens my city."

"Got it. Leave it to us."

* * *

Selicy panted, dashing out of the way of another spell. "Fuck, do you never get tired?!"

"I am beyond such things!" Fractura's head perked up, and she sidestepped a smaller version of her own pillar blast. She looked at the ramparts. "So you finally show your face, Terra."

Terra didn't respond, and a barrage of magic rained down around Fractura.

"You can't hit me; you can't even _aim_! You've gotten soft, _Terra_!" She barely dodged a lightning bolt, glaring up at Saffron. "It wont be enough! I don't care how many of you there are, you'll run out of mana eventually, and I will _destroy_ you!"

* * *

Hazel tapped a few controls, and a basic heads-up display popped into being in front of her. She turned the behemoth laser to face her target, waiting for an opportune moment. She had to make this count. She flipped the safety cover off the firing control, and the cannon began to hum; softly at first, but it only grew louder as the seconds ticked by. Finally, a green light appeared on the display.

Hazel watched, and waited.

* * *

Gunner looked up at the turret, then back at Terra and Saffron. "The coils are running hot, Hazel's ready!"

"Got it. Arch, can you spare any power for Terra?"

Striker tossed a grenade off the wall, and it exploded moments later with a flash and a burst of red smoke. Selicy looked up, and immediately turned to streak towards the gate. "He can now; give her hell, ladies."

Arch touched down, then dashed over to lay a hand on Terra's shoulder. "Fire away."

They were surrounded by a brilliant blue aura; he could channel a lot more power in direct contact like this. Terra grinned. "You made my life _hell_ , but looks like I'm having the last laugh," She raised her staff in both hands, and she lifted off the ground slightly, eyes glowing gold.

Saffron took a half step back. "Whoa, what are you—"

* * *

The ground shook beneath Fiona and Violette's feet, and the citizens murmured worriedly. "What is that?! That wasn't the cannon, so what..?"

They looked over, and their eyes widened at the sight of a rapid-fire barrage of the same pillars Fractura had called down earlier, but these were a golden color, not crimson. "Is that _Terra!?_ "

Violette stared in shock. "Holy shit."

Fiona nodded faintly. "Holy shit is right."

* * *

Fractura grit her teeth, trying to stay ahead of the relentless destructive power Terra had brought to bear. "Perhaps I was too hasty to say you've gone soft; but no matter, you can't keep this up forever, and you're still wasting your mana on wayward strikes that have no chance of hitting me."

Abruptly, the chaos ceased. Fractura straightened, a triumphant grin on her face as the dust swirled around her. "I knew you couldn't keep it up forever. You've lost, Terra." The dust began to settle, and Fractura realized she had missed an important detail; the 'wayward' impacts hadn't been random at all.

She was standing on the only remaining intact patch of ground in a hundred-meter radius; the rest was a slew of unstable, uneven craters. Her eyes widened. "I don't believe it, this can't be," She looked up, finally noticing the MAC. "..You _cannot_ be serio—"

* * *

Hazel pulled the trigger; the viewscreen turned nearly completely black to protect her eyes from the flash of energy that tore its way from the mouth of the cannon, and there was a tangible shockwave as the beam superheated the air it passed through.

Everyone shielded their eyes; the light was so bright that it washed out all other colors, casting everything in an incandescent blue-white glow. Those even remotely near the cannon felt the blast wave in their chest like a physical blow; those on the ramparts were knocked off their feet.

The city went dark, and there were scattered screams from those who didn't quite understand what had happened.

* * *

Gunner and the others clambered to their feet, looking out over the wall. There was a stunned silence for a few long moments, before Striker spoke. "..Okay, that thing terrifies me too."

Where Fractura had previously stood, there was only a furrow of molten rock some fifty meters deep. The blast had bored a hole into the ground large enough to fit the entire command center twice over, and then some. The turret began to lower into the tower, and Hazel hopped off on the walltop. She walked over. "I'm an engineer; I solve problems." She crossed her arms with a steely expression, surveying the destruction. "Problem solved."

Gunner shook his head. "Goddamn, Hazel. I never expected to need that monster, but _damn_ am I glad we had it."

Saffron was stunned. "..I see you've been hard at work, that was beyond _anything_ I've seen from you before."

* * *

Violette gathered Hazel in her arms. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay, darling; I know you were safe in the tower, but.. I worry."

Hazel smiled, standing on her tiptoes to give her wife a kiss. "I know, Vi. Don't worry; she won't be hurting anyone else."

Fiona shook her head in amazement. "I'll fucking say, I've never seen anything like that, that must have erased her from _existence_."

Hazel's ensuing smile could only be described as capricious. "It did. You might have noticed there was no debris; the molten rock was from the heat of that much mana being created in a fraction of a second. The MAC is based on the technology used in Gunner's rifle, but in reverse; anything hit by the beam is completely converted to raw mana, and it grounds itself into the local environmental mana flow. As a side effect, Selicy is going to be bouncing off the walls for a few days." She looked over, smile turning apologetic. "Sorry, Lance."

"Is _that_ what's going on, the medics haven't been able to get her to relax at _all_."

Terra shifted nervously, and Fiona patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, it's alright; Reva's going to be fine."

"Huh?" Terra started, then shook her head. "Oh, right. Thanks."

Gunner tilted his head. "Not what you're worried about? What's on your mind?"

Terra looked away slightly, holding her elbows. "..I haven't used magic like that in a long time, and.. that was a lot. I'm worried that's going to alter people's perception of me, and that it's going to make life harder for Reva, since.."

Hazel smiled, shaking her head. "Unbelievable; you're worried people are going to be afraid of you, not because you care about their opinion of _you_ , but because you don't want to make Reva look bad by association."

"..yeah. She's just—she's so sweet, and kind, and strong, and I—I can't bear the thought of someone ever believing otherwise, she doesn't deserve that, she works _so hard_ for the good of _everyone_ , how could anyone _ever_ think she was anything less than angelic? She _deserves_ to be happy, after all she's done for us? After all she's done for _me_..? And.. I know she would never think less of me, she's proven it time and again, but.. it doesn't mean I don't worry that today will change the way she thinks of me. I just—I _love_ her, I don't ever want to cause her pain or trouble, even indirectly, I want to support her and make her happy! I could spend my whole life by her side without coming _close_ to repaying the gift she's given me, but.. I can't help but want to try anyway," Terra blushed, realizing she had been pouring her heart out more than she maybe should have been. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away.."

Violette smirked. "A bit, but worry not; it was certainly appreciated."

Terra tilted her head in confusion, then realized several people were looking _past_ her. She turned slowly to see Reva standing a short distance away, hands over her mouth. " _Terra_."

Terra ducked her head, waving shyly. "Hey, Reva.. um.. how much of that did you hear..?"

Violette spoke up behind her. "She got here while Hazel was speaking, and has been doing her best impression of a tomato since."

Reva pouted. "Violette!"

Terra giggled. "You _are_ very red."

"Oh, hush.." Reva blushed even brighter. She closed the distance, taking Terra's face in her hands. "You're right; I will never think less of you. And Terra?" Reva kissed her forehead. "Your unwavering support means more to me than you know. I love you too, Terra."

Terra gasped quietly. "Reva..!"

"I had been looking for the right time to say this, and I had decided today was it, given how close of a call I just had; hearing you say those things about me only further cemented my decision. Terra.." Reva took an intricately-wrought silver pendant out of a pocket in her vest. "I want you to know that you mean the world to me. You believe in joy, and in hope. You believe in me, sometimes more than even I do. But most importantly.. You make me happy. I love seeing you smile and laugh when we cause yet another cooking disaster, I love the way you look at me when you ask to hear about things I've done, or how my day has been. Every day is brighter for you being in it. We both have many days ahead of us; and I want to spend them with _you_." Reva took one of Terra's hands, turning it to lay the pendant in her palm. "Will you marry me?"

Terra stared at the pendant, blinking back tears. It was a finely detailed replica of Eschaton, but for one difference.

The crest on the front was missing, and in its place.. was her staff.

She looked back up at Reva with a smile, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you, Reva," Terra unhooked the clasp, holding it out to Reva who took it with a smile. Terra held her hair away from her neck. "I don't know if this is how this is supposed to work, but.."

Reva smiled wider, taking a shuddering breath. "..That is _exactly_ how this tradition works." She gently fastened the pendant around Terra's neck, giving the charm a single kiss before allowing it to come to rest. "I love you, Terra."

"I love you too! Oh, _Reva_..!" Terra finally burst into tears, throwing her arms around her wife—her _wife_! _Reva_ was her _wife_! Terra was sure she had never been happier—and burrowing her nose into the crook of Reva's neck.

There was a cheer from the group, and both Terra and Reva abruptly remembered they weren't alone. They looked at each other, then smiled, and Terra shifted to let Reva hold her close against her side. "Sorry, everyone, I appear to have caused quite the diversion."

There was a soft _ping!_ from a device that Terra only just now noticed Violette holding. Hazel looked at her incredulously, then laughed. "Vi, you're really something else."

"What's that?" Terra tilted her head.

"This is a hologram recorder; I started it once I saw Reva behind you."

Reva gasped quietly. "..You _recorded_ all of that..?"

Terra's heart felt like it was going to burst. "Thank you! Thank you _so much_ , Violette."

Hazel looked at her wife with a fond smile. "She seems to have a knack for it; my proposal was a recording, but she got her response and her proposal right after, too. It's too bad I didn't make it earlier, otherwise I have no doubt she would have gotten Selicy's somehow, too."

Lance laughed. "It wouldn't have made a particularly great recording, for as much as I cherish the memory. She walked up to me on the anniversary of her rescue, grabbed my hand, and slipped the ring on." He held it up. "Then she looked me in the eyes, held up her hand with her ring on it, and said 'Any questions?'"

The group gawked at him, then dissolved into laughter. "Oh my god, that's the most Selicy thing I've _ever heard_ ," Fiona held her face in her hands, grinning. "You two are so perfect for each other."

"Right? _God_ I love that woman."

"And you should, but why are we talking about me?" Selicy walked up, slipping an arm through Lance's. "And I love you too, Lance." Then she noticed how close Terra and Reva were standing, and the pendant around Terra's neck. " _Whaaat_?! Are you _kidding_ me, I _missed_ it?!" Her head fell back and she let out an exaggerated groan. "The _one time_ I decide to play nice and humor the medics and let them fuss over me."

"Ah, never fear Selicy; I recorded it."

Selicy darted over to Violette. "Go."

Reva covered her face. "Oh, no, I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I.."

Terra smiled up at her, patting her back. "We can suffer through her teasing together."

* * *

"Wait—you're—you're _not running_?!" Fiona was aghast. "Gunner, Refuge is your _baby_ , you built this city from _nothing_ , what— _why_?" She stepped closer, taking his hands. "Did something happen? Are you okay?"

He smiled gently at her. "I've been in charge for a long time now; it's hard to say exactly when I became the Warden, since I was the leader before the city officially existed, but I've been in office for at least five years, and I've been the leader of the company for more than ten. I can't be the Warden forever, this isn't a dictatorship. Refuge doesn't need me to lead it anymore; I'll still be around helping, but it needs someone with a better head on their shoulders than I have. Like you said, it's my baby, and baby's all grown up now. Refuge's main enemies are things you can't shoot, we need a leader who has a better primary skillset. I got by, I'm capable, but I'm no expert; and around here—"

"We trust our experts." Fiona laid her forehead against his. "..I understand. It will be weird having someone else at the helm, but.. I'm proud of you. It must be hard to trust someone else with safeguarding what you've worked so hard to create."

"A bit. But the people have the right to decide. I put in my nomination, and there will be more over the next month or so. And then.. Refuge is going to have its first election."

"I'm assuming you nominated Lance?"

"I thought about it, but he didn't want the job. He wants to be able to dedicate himself to raising his daughter, and being Warden is a hell of a time commitment. Believe it or not, I actually nominated Terra."

" _Really_?"

"Did she ever tell you what she did before the apocalypse?"

"No, she didn't."

"She was the heir to the throne of her home nation. She has _actual_ , _formal_ education in how to run a country. She hated her childhood, she didn't _want_ to be the Empress; but she was still groomed to _be_ one. I asked her if she wanted the nomination, and she was so thrilled, Fiona, you have no idea."

"Wait, if she didn't want to, why would—"

"She didn't want to be _Empress_ ; she didn't like the whole empire-dictatorship-authoritarian thing. I've talked to her on a lot of occasions about her time as a cult leader; she was in charge because she had the logistical know-how, but it became a cult of personality because she's a born leader. She's been struggling to find her calling, so when I offered her the opportunity to lead Refuge, something she believes in.."

"That.. makes a lot of sense, actually." Fiona kissed him, blushing slightly and giving him a shy smile. "I can't say I'm terribly broken up about it, considering how much more time I'll be able to spend with you.."

He shifted nervously. "That's.. actually also part of why I'm not running in the election."

She beamed. "Aww, you're such a sweetie!"

He laughed. "Thanks, Fiona. But.. it's actually because I feel like I haven't given you the time and attention and affection you deserve. I also look forward to having more time with you, but.. I want to do right by you."

"Gunner.." Fiona's face was red. "You don't have to—"

"I _want_ to." He squeezed her hands gently. "I want to have the time to care for you if you're sick, and comfort you after a bad day, and actually do my share of the work around the house without running myself into the ground for it."

She laughed. "You know I don't hold it against you."

"But it still isn't fair!" She blinked, surprised at his insistence. "I'm fiercely protective of the things I love, and you are one of those things, Fiona. So I can't accept not holding myself to the standard I would hold someone else to. I.. I have to be worthy of you."

"You _are_ , Gunner! Don't give me that shit! I appreciate you being sweet and loving, but we both kick ass, and that's that! Besides, bold of you to assume that you get to decide whether you're worthy of me or not, only I can decide whether someone is worth my time and attention, and I've decided you are! So there!" She stuck out her tongue petulantly, and Gunner stared a moment in disbelief before laughing.

"You're right. I'm sorry, that was a little silly, wasn't it?"

She softened. "It was, and it's not like you; what's _really_ on your mind, love? Talk to me."

"You." He smiled softly. "I'm nervous, and worried, but I've never let that stop me before, so.."

"Gunner, what—" He let go, taking a step back. "Hey, where are you—" She cut off with a gasp when he knelt down, taking one of her hands in both of his. "Oh my god, _Gunner_..!"

"It's true that I can't be in charge forever, but.. the real reason is this. Being Warden doesn't leave much time for what's really important to me right now. You. _Us_."

Fiona took a shuddering breath. "Gunner, is—is this what I think it is..?"

He nodded. "I want to have time because I want to be there for you. I want to be the one you come home to, and the one who you call your own. I want it to be you and me against whatever life can throw at us. So how about it? Will you take this scruffy ex-mercenary as your husband?"

She laughed, tears in her eyes. "Absolutely I will. Life better step up its game, 'cause we were unstoppable before; but now?"

He grinned. "Now there's not a damn thing that can stand in our way. I'm backing you up all the way, Fiona." He stood up, pulling her in to kiss her. He ducked his head sheepishly. "I, uh.. don't have a ring yet, Hazel isn't finished, but you confronted me about the election, and I decided to just roll with the moment."

"And you know, you wouldn't be you if you didn't do things like that. I appreciate the gesture, definitely—we can do the whole kneeling to put the ring on thing later, we could even have Violette record it—but all I really need is you. I know you love me, and I love you, and now we both know that we're committed to making that last."

"You're damn right."

She took his hand, leading him to the stairs. "Come on, mister househusband, let's go find the others. Besides, Phantom probably has all sorts of embarrassing things to tell me about you planning this."

Gunner laughed. "Of _course_ your first order of business is to roast me."

She looked back with a twinkle in her eye. "I gotta keep your ego in check somehow; after all, you just got the greatest businesswoman alive to agree to marry you."

He smiled. "I guess you have a point; let's go." His expression turned to a smirk. "Besides, I'm sure Violette has plenty to say about you, too."

He laughed as she let out an exaggerated groan.

Yeah. Life was good.


End file.
